Johnson vs Hunt in the battle for Number 10 as Gove narrowly misses out
Boris Johnson will take on Jeremy Hunt in the battle for Number 10 after a day of drama at Westminster.
Michael Gove was eliminated from the race by just two votes as Conservative MPs balked at the possibility of a bitter contest due to the "personal psychodrama" involving the Environment Secretary and his rival Mr Johnson.
Allies of Mr Hunt had urged MPs to choose the Foreign Secretary to help keep the party together rather than risk a ferocious row between Mr Johnson and Mr Gove.
"Boris and Michael are great candidates but we have seen their personal psychodrama before," a source said.
There has also been widespread speculation at Westminster that Mr Johnson's camp would attempt to engineer a way to prevent Mr Gove making the final pair – although the former foreign secretary denied being involved in any "dark arts".
I'm deeply honoured to have secured more than 50 per cent of the vote in the final ballot. Thank you to everyone for your support! I look forward to getting out across the UK and to set out my plan to deliver Brexit, unite our country, and create a brighter future for all of us. pic.twitter.com/i5D4ByurAM
— Boris Johnson (@BorisJohnson) June 20, 2019
In the fifth and final round of voting by MPs to whittle the field down to two, Mr Johnson again finished first, with 160 votes.
Mr Hunt regained second place, having lost it to Mr Gove in the fourth round of voting.
He secured 77 votes to get his name on the final ballot paper which will go to around 160,000 Conservative members who will choose the next prime minister.
Thank you so much to my colleagues who have backed me to get this far - and to Lucia for all her incredible support. The campaign starts now. Please make sure you join me by volunteering here: https://t.co/JP6DslIj8V#HastobeHuntpic.twitter.com/R3ZMLAz7Ur
— Jeremy Hunt (@Jeremy_Hunt) June 20, 2019
Mr Gove was eliminated from the contest after receiving 75 votes.
Naturally disappointed but so proud of the campaign we ran. Huge thanks to my brilliant campaign team. It's been an honour to be able to set out a vision for the future of our great country. Many congratulations to Boris and Jeremy!
— Michael Gove (@michaelgove) June 20, 2019
Earlier on Thursday Sajid Javid's campaign ended after he received just 34 votes in the fourth ballot.
Congratulations @borisjohnson & @jeremy_hunt. Well-deserved. Let's have a robust but positive contest, showing off the best in Conservative ideas and values.
— Sajid Javid (@sajidjavid) June 20, 2019
The final outcome of the leadership contest will not be known until the week beginning July 22, with the two remaining candidates taking part in a series of hustings in front of Tory members around the country before the votes are counted.
