Boris Johnson said in a statement Sunday night that he will not be joining the fight to become Britain’s Next Prime Ministerall but guaranteed that former UK Prime Minister Rishi Sunak will get the top job at 10 Downing Street.
“I believe I have a lot to offer but I fear this is not the right time,” Johnson said. Although he claimed he was “overwhelmed by the number of people” encouraging him to run for leadership of the Conservative Party, Johnson said he failed after failing to reach an agreement with his opponents. his chief ministers, Sunak and Penny Mordaunt, lead the House of Representatives.
“You cannot govern effectively unless you have a unified party in parliament,” he explains.
Johnson also asserted that he had the backing of 102 other Tory Parliamentary Ministers before he resigned, which would have allowed him to get the vote. Only 57 Tories had publicly announced their support for him at the time of his announcement, according to BBC Research.
Candidates are required to have at least 100 votes cast by 2pm on Monday London time to be considered for the ballot. As of Sunday night, Sunak had gathered 147 Conservative Party supporters, while Mordaunt had 24.
Johnson has never officially announced his intention to run, unlike Mordaunt, who announced his bid on Friday, and Sunak, whom Johnson met on Saturday night. Without providing details, Sunak supporter Dominic Raab told BBC that the couple had “a very good conversation about the need for unification.”
On Sunday morning, Sunak, a former hedge fund manager, announced that he would take his hat off to the ring.
Johnson served as UK prime minister from 2019 until this July, when he resigned over the government’s outraged response to a series of ethics scandals, including allegations that he lied to parliament. a series of wine parties breach of the UK’s COVID-19 lockdown.
His shrewd successor, Liz Truss, ruled for a total of 45 days before her perceived incompetence — best demonstrated by her disastrous tax plan — resigned in disgrace. , becoming the shortest serving prime minister in the nation’s history.
Soon after, Johnson cut short his vacation in the Dominican Republic to return home. “I hope you like your holiday boss,” tweeted James Duddridge, a Tory MP. “Time to go back. Some problems at the office need to be resolved. “
