UK Conservatives to choose final 2 leadership contenders

LONDON (AP) — Conservative lawmakers in Britain are voting Thursday to decide which two candidates should be in the runoff to become the country’s next prime minister.

Members of Parliament are voting on three legislators — Home Secretary Theresa May, Energy Minister Andrea Leadsom and Justice Secretary Michael Gove.

May had a big lead after a first round of voting on Tuesday that saw the field winnowed from five to three.

Results of the latest round will be announced Thursday afternoon. The candidate with the least support will be eliminated and the other two will campaign around the country to win the votes of 150,000 party members who will vote in the runoff.

The result of the party ballot will be announced Sept. 9. The winner will replace Prime Minister David Cameron, who announced his resignation after Britain voted last month to leave the European Union.

The new leader will be responsible for leading Britain’s exit negotiations with the 28-nation EU as well as helping to steady the country’s government and economy, which has been deeply shaken by markets’ reaction to the EU vote.

Leadsom and Gove, who both backed the “leave” campaign in the referendum, say the prime minister should be someone who truly believes in a British exit, or Brexit.

May, 59, backed the losing “remain” side in the EU vote but says she is the best person to unite a party that — like the country — is divided over the referendum result.

May has drawn criticism for failing to guarantee that citizens of EU countries who live in Britain will be able to remain after Brexit. That has led to accusations she is using European citizens as pawns in the EU divorce talks.

In a speech to supporters Thursday, 53-year-old Leadsom promised that Britain could retain continued free trade with the EU while simultaneously controlling immigration — an unrealistic prospect, according to critics.

“I will not use people’s lives as bargaining chips in some negotiation,” Leadsom promised.

“People need certainty and they will get it,” she said. “I say to all who are legally here that you will be welcome to stay.”

Leadsom, who entered Parliament in 2010 after a career in financial services, has the least political experience of the three candidates, but impressed many Conservatives with her forceful campaigning during the referendum.

She has faced allegations from rivals that she exaggerated her experience in the financial sector.

Gove, 48, came third in Tuesday’s first-round vote and is seen by some Tories as untrustworthy after he ditched his support for former London Mayor Boris Johnson — who had been expected to run for Conservative leader — and declared himself a candidate instead. Johnson has since declared his support for Leadsom.