Zahawi Knocked Out of UK Tory Leadership Contest as Sunak Leads Field

Chancellor of the Exchequer Rishi Sunak arrives for the funeral of James Brokenshire at St. John The Evangelist church in Bexley, southeast London, on Oct. 21, 2021. Stefan Rousseau/PA

Chancellor Nadhim Zahawi has been knocked out of the contest for the leadership of the Conservative Party, with his predecessor, Rishi Sunak, leading the field after the first round of voting by Tory MPs on July 13.

Zahawi and former Health Secretary Jeremy Hunt both failed to reach the 30 votes necessary to make it through to Thursday’s second round of the contest to find a replacement for Boris Johnson, who resigned as Britain’s prime minister last week.