Conservative lawmakers have chosen Home Secretary Theresa May and Energy Minister Andrea Leadsom to fight a runoff contest for leadership of Britain’s governing party. The winner will become the country’s second female prime minister.
May received 199 votes in a ballot of Conservative members of Parliament Thursday. Leadsom received 84. Justice Secretary Michael Gove got 46 votes and was eliminated from the race.
Some 150,000 Conservative Party members will now vote in the leadership contest, with the result announced Sept. 9.
The winner will replace Prime Minister David Cameron, who announced his resignation after Britain voted last month to leave the European Union.
Britain’s first female prime minister was Margaret Thatcher, a Conservative who governed from 1979 to 1990.
Copyright 2016 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
If either one of them behaves at all like Thatcher we’re in for a bumpy ride.
Thatcher wasn’t that bad…
I mean, she was, but she was decidedly second fiddle to Saint Ronnie Ray-gun.
“Next British PM will be female for the first time since Thatcher.”
And the next US President will be white for the first time since George W. Bush.
So?
Yeah. Big deal.
ETA: Just another white person.
The first known usage of congressperson, Merriam-Webster tells me, was in 1972.
Hearing Madame President for the first time is going to be fricking awesome!!!
Madam President sounds just as good.
Usually PMs don’t transgender back and forth that much.