Tory leadership contest: Stephen Crabb withdraws from race with 34 votes from MPs

Mr Crabb said he will back Home Secretary Theresa May who leads the leadership contest on 165 votes

Tuesday 05 July 2016 20:12 BST

(Getty Images)

British Work and Pensions Secretary Stephen Crabb has withdrawn from the Conservative Party leadership race after finishing fourth in the first round of voting.

Mr Crabb received just 34 votes from the party's members of Parliament on Tuesday, finishing just ahead of rival Liam Fox who was eliminated from the race after finishing last with only 16 votes.

The MP for Preseli Pembrokeshire has said he will now back the Home Secretary Theresa May, who leads the leadership contest on 165 votes, saying "there is only one candidate" to unite the Tories and form a "cohesive and strong" government.

Energy Minister Andrea Leadsom, who came second with 66 votes and Justice Secretary Michael Gove, third with 48 votes, remain in the running for Conservative leadership.

Speaking to BBC News, Mr Crabb said: "I entered this leadership race with the overriding goal of putting two themes at the heart of the debate - unity for our divided nation and opportunity to tackle disadvantage in particular.

"And I've been overwhelmed by the support I've received from colleagues - those who voted for me today but those who didn't as well, but who made the point to me that they share my one nation vision and they want that one nation vision to be at the heart of the next Conservative government.

"I think tonight we need to recognise that there is only one candidate in a position to unite our party and to form a cohesive and strong government, which our country needs at this time.

"I mean this is a really, really serious moment for this country and so I've taken the decision that I won't put my name forward to the next round of voting but instead of that I'll be lending my wholehearted support to Theresa May, who is overwhelmingly in the best position to be the next prime minister and the leader of the Conservative Party."

Shortly after Dr Fox also backed Mrs May, saying "experience matters".

The favourites in the Tory leadership race

Show all 5

1/5The favourites in the Tory leadership race

The favourites in the Tory leadership race

Theresa May

The longest-serving Home Secretary in 100 years took a back seat in the referendum campaign. While backing Remain, she did not hit the campaign trail and delivered only a handful of speeches and interviews, and was critical of many aspects of the EU, particularly the European Convention on Human Rights. Hedging her bets allows her to now emerge as a ‘unity’ candidate, and she is said to have been building up her back-room staff in preparation for a leadership bid. She has the significant advantage of having served in one of the great offices of state, in a steady and competent manner that has won her many admirers within party and the civil service. At a time of great instability, it may be that she is viewed as steady hand on the tiller. Mrs May does however, lack the ‘star quality’ of a Boris Johnson and party members may doubt her ability to connect with ordinary voters

PA

The favourites in the Tory leadership race

Michael Gove

The Justice Secretary may be able to set himself up as ‘the thinking Tory’s Brexit candidate’. Made an enormous political and personal decision to back Leave, taking on his old friend David Cameron. He performed well during the TV debates, and will be an admired figure among Eurosceptic Conservatives. Along with Johnson, he will be hindered by the fact that he led a very divisive campaign, characterised by ‘blue-on-blue’ action. MPs may also judge that he lacks Boris Johnson’s wider appeal with the electorate. Possibly more likely that he will settle for being his new bosom buddy Boris’s Chancellor

Getty

The favourites in the Tory leadership race

Stephen Crabb

Highly-rated Work and Pensions Secretary, raised on a council estate, so could reach out to non-traditional working class Tory voters

Getty Images

The favourites in the Tory leadership race

Andrea Leadsom

Minister of State for Energy at the Department of Energy and Climate Change is one of the most prominent figures in the Leave campaign, seen to have performed well in TV debates

Rex Features

The favourites in the Tory leadership race

Liam Fox

British Conservative MP and former Secretary of State for Defence, as sources said he will stand for the leadership of the Conservative Party

AFP/Getty

Further voting will take place on Thursday and the following Tuesday until only two contenders remain. The leader of the party – and Prime Minister – will be chosen from these two in a ballot of about 150,000 Conservative Party members, due to end on 9 September.

Independent declarations of support verified by the Press Association show Ms May, the longest serving Home Secretary in 100 years, has the backing of 130 MPs. She is comfortably ahead of Ms Leadsom, the junior energy minister and Leave campaigner, who has 40.

Additional reporting by Press Association

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