14th June, 2019
UK Health Secretary Matt Hancock has bowed out of the Tory leadership race, the day after he came sixth in the first round of the vote.
In a statement Mr Hancock said: “I ran as the candidate of the future, but the party is understandably looking for a candidate for the unique circumstances we face right now. I will talk to all the other candidates about how these values can be best taken forward.”
On Thursday Boris Johnson topped the first round of the Conservative Party leadership contest with 114 votes out of 313 Tory MPs.
Three contenders were knocked out but Matt Hancock scraped through, with 20 MPs supporting him.
Mr Johnson, who has gotten the endorsement of US President Donald Trump, is the clear favourite to win the contest.
A second round of voting will take place among MPs on Tuesday, June 18, and the race is on for second place with Jeremy Hunt – who won 43 votes – fractionally ahead of Michael Gove, who got 39.
Dominic Raab, who got 27 and Sajid Javid, who got 23, and Rory Stewart, who polled 19, will now come under pressure to quit and throw their weight behind Mr Johnson, Mr Hunt or Mr Gove.