The contest to decide Britain's next prime minister has been overshadowed by a Bank of England warning that the nation is entering a period of economic uncertainty after the referendum.
Real estate, retailers and lenders are just some of the industries feeling the pinch.
In a move that will free up around 260 billion dollars Australian for lending, the Bank has announced a reduction in the amount of capital needed to be kept in reserve by banks.
It marks a reversal of a decision made earlier in the year, when it forecast the economy would grow.
The Bank's governor, Mark Carney, says the Bank is working to minimise the negative effects of the referendum decision.
"The UK has entered a period of uncertainty and significant economic adjustment. The efforts of the Bank of England will not be able to fully and immediately offset the market and economic volatility that can be expected while this adjustment proceeds. More fundamentally, the future potential of this economy and its implications for jobs, real wages and wealth are not the gifts of the Bank of England, but will be driven by major decisions made by others within the public and private sectors."
In perhaps the first unsurprising result since the Brexit vote, British Home Secretary Theresa May has taken the lead in the race to become the new British leader.
She won 165 votes in the first ballot of Conservative members of parliament, almost a hundred more than her nearest rival, junior energy minister and eurosceptic Andrea Leadsom.
MP Graham Brady announced the results.
"The number of electors was 330, the number of votes cast was 329, and the number of spoiled papers was zero. The candidates and their votes cast, in alphabetical order, were as follows: Stephen Crabb 34, Dr Liam Fox 16, Michael Gove 48, Andrea Leadsom 66, Theresa May 165. Therefore, Dr Liam Fox, having the lowest number of votes, has been eliminated from the ballot."
Soon after the tally, Work and Pensions Secretary Stephen Crabb announced his withdrawal, throwing his support behind Ms May.
The third candidate standing, Justice Minister Michael Gove, says he has shown he has what it takes to be prime minister.
"I've also got experience at the highest level of government, of driving change, often in the teeth of opposition. And the other thing is that I've built a team to support me in this campaign, in just a few days' time, composed of people who are passionate about remaining, like our wonderful education secretary Nicky Morgan, but also people who are in the forefront of arguing that we should leave, like my colleague Dominic Raab. So during the course of this campaign, I've managed to bring people together from across the Conservative Party behind a hopeful and optimistic message of change, and I hope that I'll be able to take that message to the country."
Mr Gove has been accused of forcing former London mayor and fellow Leave campaigner Boris Johnson out of the race after suddenly withdrawing his support for him last week.
If more than two candidates remain, another ballot will take place on Thursday before a final vote among around 150,000 party members to choose a new leader.
If Theresa May were to win, she would become the UK's second female prime minister, following Margaret Thatcher.
The new leader faces a daunting task, including beginning to extricate the country from the European Union as well as uniting party members divided by the referendum campaign.
