UK Conservatives vote for final pair in race to be Brexit PM

Conservative lawmakers will on Thursday choose the final two candidates to replace David Cameron as Britain's next prime minister -- and lead the country out of the European Union.

Interior minister Theresa May is the frontrunner, but two Brexit campaigners are battling to be her opponent in the final contest, which will be decided by 150,000 Conservative Party members.

The winner, due to be announced on September 9, will have the task of extricating Britain from its 43-year membership of the EU, following the seismic vote in last month's referendum to leave the bloc.

Cameron quit as the results came through, plunging Britain's future into uncertainty.

Sterling has collapsed against the dollar and the Bank of England has warned that the risks of financial stability were "crystallising".

Conservative MPs will vote through the day, with a decision expected around 1530 GMT, and a flurry of campaigning in the final hours sparked accusations of dirty tricks.
Nick Boles, a lawmaker who backs justice minister Michael Gove for leader, had to apologise after sending a text to supporters of May asking them to vote tactically to back his candidate to keep out their rival, Andrea Leadsom.

"Michael doesn't mind spending two months taking a good thrashing from Theresa if that is what it takes but in the party's interest and the national interest, surely we must all work together to stop AL?" he wrote.

In a penitent tweet, Boles said his candidate was not aware of his manoeuvering -- but it will not help Gove's image, after he sensationally withdrew support from leadership frontrunner Boris Johnson to stand himself.

Leadsom, a junior energy minister, has secured surprisingly strong support following a sound performance in EU referendum debates, and came second in a first ballot of Tory MPs on Tuesday.
However, questions have been raised about her qualification for the top job, with reports suggesting she has exaggerated her experience in the financial sector before she entered the House of Commons in 2010.

She has also been criticised for failing to publish details of her taxes, after her two rivals did so.

With EU leaders pushing Britain to speed up the race and begin Brexit negotiations, a group of about 30 MPs have signed a letter calling for a new leader to be installed by the end of the month.

Source: AFP