Who are the five candidates who want to become the next Tory leader and the UK’s Prime Minister?
Here are the runners and riders in the race to replace David Cameron in Number 10
FIVE candidates have thrown their hat into the ring to replace David Cameron as Prime Minister from across the Tory party.
As voting gets underway here are the key facts about each of the MPs taking part in the Conservative leadership contest:
Theresa May, 59
The current Home Secretary, who has been in place since 2010, is the favourite with bookmakers to enter Downing Street and has by far the most nominations from her Commons colleagues.
She was born in Eastbourne, the daughter of an Anglican vicar, and read Geography at Oxford University before starting her career at the Bank of England, and becoming the MP for Maidenhead in 1997.
Her big moment came in 2002, having been made the first female chair of the Conservatives she told its conference they are seen as the “nasty party” - while wearing a pair of now-famous leopard print kitten heels.
Sometimes labelled the ice queen of the Cabinet, she is not part of David Cameron’s inner circle, but has impressed with her hard work and ability to stick around in the Home Office - where political careers often go to die.
She is married to husband Phillip and has no children, and is a keen cook – revealing she owns more than 100 recipe books.
She backed remain in the EU referendum, but was seen as reluctant backer and failed to campaign as strongly for the cause as some of her other Cabinet colleagues.
Michael Gove, 48
The current Justice Secretary, he was the co-chair of the Vote Leave campaign – and though initially expected to back Boris Johnson he announced his own surprise bid last Thursday.
He was brought up by Labour-supporting adoptive parents in Aberdeen, with his father owning a fishing business.
He studied English at Oxford on a scholarship before becoming a journalist with The Times, and was elected to parliament as the MP for Surrey Heath in 2005.
He was made Education Secretary in the coalition government and started a number of radical reforms such as the launch of free schools and sweeping changes to the exam system, before being moved to become Chief Whip in 2014.
After last year’s general election he was elevated to Justice, where he has continued to commitment to radical social change.
Married to journalist Sarah Vine, the couple have two children, he is known for his quiet approach belying his radical zeal – described as a "mixture of Jeeves and Che Guevara".
Andrea Leadsom, 53
The Energy and climate change minister went from being a relative unknown to a leading light of the Brexit camp during the EU referendum.
She was brought up in Tring, Hertfordshire, by a divorced mother in a terraced house with an outside toilet.
After studying at Warwick University she embarked on a 25-year career in banking and finance, including senior positions at Barclays, before entering Parliament in 2010 as the MP for South Northamptonshire.
She was a Treasury minister before moving to the energy department, and traded verbal blows with her Remain-backing boss Amber Rudd in one TV referendum debate.
Married with two sons and one daughter, she has picked up some big name Tory backers, including Boris Johnson after he decided not to run himself, and is expected to fare well in the race.
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Stephen Crabb, 43
The Work and Pensions Secretary has had a swift rise, and is pitching himself as the ‘blue collar’ candidate in the contest.
Born in Inverness and brought up on a council estate in Haverfordwest in Wales, he was raised by a single mother, studied at Bristol University, gaining a first-class degree in politics and joining the Conservative Party after graduating.
Elected to parliament in 2005 he was a minister in the Wales Office, before becoming secretary of state in July 2014, and took over from Iain Duncan Smith’s role at the DWP this March.
He backed Remain in the referendum, and is running on a joint ticket with Business Secretary Sajid Javid, who would be his Chancellor if he got the keys to Number 10, but is seen as an outsider in the race.
Married to a French wife they have two children, and as a keen rugby player, he still turns out for the Commons and Lords team.
Liam Fox, 54
Currently a backbencher, the Scottish MP was Defence Secretary in the coalition but was forced to resign over his friend Adam Werritty’s role as his adviser.
Born in Inverness, he studied at Glasgow University before working as a GP in Somerset and Buckinghamshire and as a civilian army medical officer.
He became the MP for Woodspring, now North Somerset, in 1992, and unsuccessfully ran for leader the last time the Tories had a contest in 2005 – losing out to David Cameron.
A key figure on the right of the party, he is seen as 'a proper Eurosceptic' who wants strict immigration controls., saying if we had to lose membership of the single market in exchange for freedom of movement it would be a price worth paying.
He is in last place with the bookmakers and has the fewest endorsements by fellow Tory MPs, and is expected to be knocked out in the first round.
Click here for a guide to how the election process takes place