Michael Gove and Theresa May head five-way Conservative race

Justice Secretary Michael Gove and Home Secretary Theresa May lead a five-way race to be the next Conservative Party leader and UK prime minister.

Mr Gove was a surprise addition to the race, having been expected to back Boris Johnson, who shocked the political world by ruling himself out.

Minister Andrea Leadsom, MP Liam Fox and Work and Pensions Secretary Stephen Crabb are also in the running.

The winner of the contest is set to be announced on 9 September.

The leadership battle has been sparked by David Cameron’s decision to step down as prime minister after losing the EU referendum, which saw the country vote by 52% to 48% to leave the EU.

Mr Gove’s announcement early on Thursday that he would challenge the leadership was unexpected, as the justice secretary had been expected to throw his weight behind fellow leading Leave campaigner Mr Johnson for Conservative leader.

Explaining his decision, he said: “I have repeatedly said that I do not want to be prime minister. That has always been my view. But events since last Thursday have weighed heavily with me.

“I respect and admire all the candidates running for the leadership. In particular, I wanted to help build a team behind Boris Johnson so that a politician who argued for leaving the European Union could lead us to a better future.

“But I have come, reluctantly, to the conclusion that Boris cannot provide the leadership or build the team for the task ahead.”

Analysis

By Ben Wright, BBC political correspondent

“Shakespearian” is the word being mumbled by dazed politicians and pundits at Westminster.

The ambitions, rivalries and duplicitous double-dealing unleashed before the Tory leadership contest even got underway has left onlookers groping for fictional comparisons.

It’s Richard III meets Scarface, with a bit of Godfather thrown in.

Remember this: David Cameron, Boris Johnson, Michael Gove and George Osborne grew up together – personally and politically. Their families were close. But the EU referendum ripped through old loyalties.

First Michael Gove backed the Leave campaign, knowing the damage it could do to Cameron and Osborne. The chancellor and Gove kept their friendship intact despite the strain of the campaign.

But it was Boris Johnson’s decision to lead the Leave campaign and put his own ambitions to be prime minister ahead of loyalty to David Cameron that severed his relationship with the now departing PM, destroyed by Leave’s victory.

Boris Johnson believed the crown would be his and naively believed Michael Gove’s promises of support. But now Mr Gove, despite polite protestations he never coveted the top job, has ruthlessly dispatched his friend.

What has been going on behind the scenes? The truth will only emerge in memoirs.

But my sense is Mr Gove and his team of advisors clearly did not believe Boris Johnson had the spine to fully divorce Britain from the EU. Nor did a number of Tory Mps trust Mr Johnson to deliver the promises he was making in terms of personnel and jobs.

When Mr Gove made his move, hardened Brexit believers instantly went with him, sinking Boris Johnson.

The irony of course is that Boris Johnson, who did so much to take Britain out of the EU, has seen his own ambitious crushed in the aftermath.

It could be that the big winner from this vicious Tory drama is the woman in charge of law and order – Theresa May.

Setting out his pitch for the leadership, the cabinet minister – best known as a controversial education secretary before becoming one of the faces of the Leave campaign – said: “I want there to be an open and positive debate about the path the country will now take.

“Whatever the verdict of that debate I will respect it. In the next few days I will lay out my plan for the United Kingdom which I hope can provide unity and change.”

Conservative MP David Davis told BBC Radio 5 Live Mr Gove’s decision must have been taken “very late”, as Mr Gove’s assistant had asked him on Wednesday night to attend Mr Johnson’s campaign launch on Thursday.

Justice minister and Leave campaigner Dominic Raab, who switched his support from Mr Johnson to Mr Gove, told the BBC’s Daily Politics that “Boris was cavalier with assurances he made” and had failed to put together a “strong unifying team”.

BBC