Tory leadership contest: Boris Johnson on course for Number 10 after landslide first-round victory

Boris Johnson scooped 114 votes from Tory MPs, 71 ahead of his nearest rival Jeremy Hunt

Boris Johnson is on course for Number 10 after securing a commanding victory in the first round of MPs’ votes for the new Conservative leader and prime minister, beating his nearest rival Jeremy Hunt by 71 votes.

Mr Johnson scooped 114 votes, against Mr Hunt’s 43 and Michael Gove‘s 37. The former foreign secretary’s tally took him beyond the 105 required in the final round of MPs’ votes next week in order to progress to the postal ballot of 160,000 party members which will select the final winner.

Outsiders Esther McVey, Andrea Leadsom and Mark Harper were knocked out after failing to meet the threshold of 17 votes required to progress to the next round of voting on Tuesday, but international development secretary Rory Stewart, who has ruled out a no-deal Brexit, scraped through with 19.

The result will spark frenzied horse-trading and deal-making in the corridors and backrooms of Westminster, as the all-male roster of surviving candidates try to woo supporters of their eliminated rivals.

MPs will whittle down contenders to a shortlist of two by the end of next week, after which the new prime minister will be selected towards the end of July by party members.

The result, announced by joint acting chair of the Tory backbench 1922 Committee Dame Cheryl Gillan in a Westminster committee room, put Mr Johnson on 114 votes, ahead of foreign secretary Mr Hunt on 43, environment secretary Mr

Health secretary Matt Hancock edged past the threshold to move on to the second round with 20 votes and Mr Stewart took 17. They will face the tougher challenge of gathering 33 votes on Tuesday to remain in the race.

Their survival secures them the potentially vital opportunity to appear on the first televised hustings on Channel 4, when they will aim to raise their profiles in a race which has so far been dominated by the highly recognisable Johnson. However, it is understood that both Mr Johnson and Mr Hunt are declining to take part in the programme.

Mr Stewart, who has said he will not serve under Mr Johnson or join the administration of any leader willing to countenance no-deal, said he was now in a position to win the overall contest.

Pointing to a straw poll of Tory activists on the ConservativeHome blog which put him in second place after Mr Johnson, Mr Stewart said: “Up to now, my popularity has been with the general public. Now I am beginning to cut through with the members.”

He said he was building support by “being straight with people, being realistic and explaining that Brexit can only be done though parliament”, adding: “Men standing up in a macho way and saying ‘I’m going to deliver Brexit’ without a plan to do it just isn’t enough.”

Mr Stewart, who has proposed a citizens’ assembly to find a consensus Brexit plan, called on Mr Johnson to make clear whether he was ready to “lock the doors of parliament” by suspending sittings in order to stop MPs from blocking a no-deal outcome.

(AFP/Getty (AFP/Getty)

A source inside Mr Gove’s camp said their candidate had retrieved his position despite negative headlines about his admission of cocaine use as a young man.

“Everyone had written us off,” said one team source. “People said we were going backwards in fact we gained support. We are in touching distance of second. All to play for.”

A source close to Mr Hancock said the health secretary had “surpassed expectations” as MPs responded well to his “pro-business message” and his focus on taking the fight to Labour and the Liberal Democrats rather than concentrating solely on Brexit.

Former work and pensions secretary and Ms McVey took just nine votes and was eliminated alongside former chief whip Mark Harper on 10 and former leader of the Commons Ms Leadsom on 11.

Johnson supporter Daniel Kawczynski said the former foreign secretary could expect to scoop up a sizeable number of the supporters of Ms McVey and Ms Leadsom, both hardline Brexiteers who had indicated that they were prepared to exit without a deal on 31 October. Mr Harper had promised to extend Brexit negotiations in the hope of getting a new deal with Brussels, insisting that it was not credible to claim a renegotiation could be completed by the Halloween deadline.

But Chris Grayling, who has is also backing Mr Johnson, said it was important to “never take anything for granted”, as MPs are not bound to vote for the same candidates in subsequent rounds.

Mr Johnson said: “I am delighted to win the first ballot, but we have a long way to go.”

Cameraphones were banned from the committee room where MPs voted, with some claiming that they had been told by members of Mr Johnson’s team to take pictures of their own ballot papers in order to prove they had delivered their votes as promised. However, Mr Grayling said he was unaware of this whipping tactic being used.