Theresa May v Andrea Leadsom to be next prime minister

The contest now moves to its final stage with the Conservative Party’s 150,000-strong membership deciding between Mrs May, a Remain campaigner with a long track record in government, and Mrs Leadsom, a leading light of the Brexit campaign who has stressed her City and business background.

Speaking after the results were announced, Mrs May said she had secured support from all wings of the Conservative Party and pledged to bring the Tories together.

She promised “strong, proven leadership” to negotiate the UK’s departure from the EU, and to “make Britain a country that works not for a privileged few but for every one of us”.

Conservative MP Tim Loughton, Mrs Leadsom’s campaign manager, said she would bring a “huge and fresh skills base” to Downing Street if elected.

He played down her lack of cabinet experience, saying she would have “no problem stepping up to the job” having had a long career outside politics, adding: “She has done things outside of this place on so many different levels.”