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Tory leadership: MPs choosing final two candidates
![How will the next British Prime Minister be chosen?]()
Race for Number 10: Candidates await news as fourth ballot closes The latest as Sajid Javid, Michael Gove and Jeremy Hunt battle it out to make it onto the final ballot and take on Boris Johnson. How will the next British Prime Minister be chosen?
Boris Johnson, a former foreign secretary who helped lead the 2016 Brexit referendum campaign, is the runaway favorite to win a final pair of ballots on Thursday that will whittle down the race to replace Prime Minister Theresa May to two candidates.
Conservative MPs are voting to choose the two men who will contest the final stage of their leadership race later.
The remaining field of four candidates will be whittled down to three in a secret ballot, with the result expected at about 13:00 BST.
There will then be a further vote to select the final two, one of whom will be elected leader by party members.
Boris Johnson topped Wednesday's third ballot with 143 votes, ahead of Jeremy Hunt, Michael Gove and Sajid Javid.
International Development Secretary Rory Stewart was knocked out of the contest on Wednesday evening, after he secured the backing of just 27 Tory MPs.
Mr Johnson is almost certain to make the run-off of 160,000 or so Conservative members who will elect the next Tory leader - and prime minister - in a postal ballot, starting next week.
His campaign to be prime minister received an endorsement from Evening Standard editor and former Chancellor George Osborne.
