UK: Tory leadership contest ends

New Conservative leader and prime minister -- either Boris Johnson or Jeremy Hunt -- set to be announced Tuesday

LONDON The contest for Britain’s Conservative Party leadership ended Monday evening when party members hit the deadline to cast ballots. Around 160,000 Tory members have voted to elect their next leader and the U.K.’s new prime minister, who will succeed Theresa May. The result of the contest between former and current Foreign Secretaries Boris Johnson and Jeremy Hunt will be announced on Tuesday. The new prime minister will take over the government from Theresa May, who is set to leave her official residence on Downing Street on Wednesday. May, who has served as party leader since the resignation of David Cameron following the unexpected result of the June 2016 EU referendum, was forced out of office by her party. She repeatedly failed to pass her Brexit deal through the House of Commons, and at her request, the EU extended the departure deadline twice to April 12 and Oct. 31. The U.K. is set to leave the bloc after more than 40 years of membership at the end of October.