Theresa May takes pole position in Tory leadership race

UK home secretary Theresa May has taken pole position in the race to succeed David Cameron as prime minister, securing a comfortable advantage over her four rivals with the backing of 165 Conservative MPs in the first round of voting.

Former defence secretary Liam Fox was eliminated from the contest after winning the support of just 16 MPs. Work and pensions secretary Stephen Crabb, who received 34 votes, withdrew from the race afterward and backed Ms May

Ms May’s tally amounted to exactly half of the 330 Conservative MPs, but was a majority of the 329 voting, guaranteeing her a place in the final run-off ballot of Conservative members unless she loses supporters to one of her rivals over the next few days.