After a brief attempt to reclaim the position of prime minister he was ejected from less than three months ago, the former British prime minister Boris Johnson has announced that he will not compete to lead the Conservative Party.
Former Treasury Secretary Rishi Sunak is now the overwhelming favourite to become the next prime minister of Britain as a result of his resignation. He might take first place on Monday (local time).
Liz Truss resigned last week after her tax-cutting economic package caused turbulence in the financial markets and destroyed her authority within the ruling party. Johnson, who was removed from office in July over ethics problems, was widely anticipated to run to succeed Truss.
Johnson returned from his Caribbean vacation via plane and spent the weekend attempting to win over his fellow senators.
He said that by late Sunday (local time), he had gathered more than 100 names—the necessary number to run.
He lagged considerably behind Sunak in backing, though. “You can’t govern effectively until you have a united party in Parliament,” Johnson claimed he had come to the conclusion.
In order to gain the upper hand over his two primary challengers, Johnson and former Cabinet minister Penny Mordaunt, Sunak won the public backing of well over 100 Tory legislators.
The third new prime minister the Conservative Party will install this year is to be installed within a week of the nominations being finalised.
In this summer’s Tory leadership contest to succeed Johnson after he was ousted due to a series of ethics problems, Sunak, 42, finished second to Truss. He declared he would be participating in the most recent leadership race on Sunday (local time).
“There will be integrity, professionalism and accountability at every level of the government I lead and I will work day in and day out to get the job done,” Sunak said in a statement.
Johnson left after allies pushed him to do so.
Business Secretary Jacob Rees-Mogg told the BBC that he spoke with Johnson and “clearly he’s going to stand” after flying back to London from a vacation in the Dominican Republic.
Deep divisions within the Conservative Party and widespread fear were caused by Johnson’s potential return to power. Johnson, 58, only formally resigned in early September.
Supporters say he is a vote winner and has enough support from lawmakers, but many critics warned another Johnson government would be catastrophic for the party and the country.
Among the 357 Conservative legislators in Britain, several have yet to publicly endorse a candidate to succeed Truss.
The next UK prime minister will not be Boris Johnson.
About Author
