Tory members to choose next top UK leader from Johnson or Hunt

The final stage of the Conservative leadership race to be the next British prime minister has begun after Environment Secretary Michael Gove was eliminated from the contest amid speculation tactical voting helped oust him.

A former mayor of London, Boris Johnson, and Foreign Secretary Jeremy Hunt will spend the next four weeks making their case to 160,000 party members across the nation in a battle to become the next leader of a party and a nation deeply entangled in Brexit negotiations with the European Union.

The hustings campaign process will give association members an opportunity to consider who they prefer to succeed caretaker Prime Minister Theresa May in 10 Downing Street. The new leader is due to be announced during the week of July 22.