Britain's ruling Conservative party on Tuesday began the first round of voting to choose a new party leader who will succeed David Cameron as the prime minister with home secretary Theresa May emerging as a clear front-runner.
May was the clear frontrunner in the race and bagged 165 votes in the first round, which resulted in the first elimination of a candidate with the least votes.
Gove, who had surprised political circles with his decision to stand for the Conservative party leadership instead of backing fellow Brexit champion Boris Johnson, laid out his case to be premier despite not being glamorous enough.
Other candidates emerging in the fray include United Kingdom's longest-serving home secretaries in history, Theresa May, who turns 60 later this year and has reportedly gathered strong support, followed by UK health secretary Jeremy Hunt.
Apart from May, the four other contenders for the Conservative leadership and prime ministership are Stephen Crabb, Liam Fox, Michael Gove and Andrea Leadsom.
