After former leader Boris Johnson withdrew from the race for the Conservative Party leadership, Rishi Sunak, the former Treasury chief, is now the overwhelming favourite to become Britain’s next prime minister within days or perhaps hours.
In a period of political unrest and significant economic difficulties, the ruling party is selecting Britain’s third prime minister this year following Liz Truss’ departure last week.
The single contender, Sunak, 42, has more than 100 MPs declare their support, which is required to participate in the election. Penny Mordaunt, the leader of the House of Commons, has received somewhat fewer declarations of support, but she hopes to surpass it by the time nominations close at 2 pm.
If Mordaunt does not reach 100 nominations, Sunak will win by acclamation and could move into 10 Downing St. by Monday evening.
The 357 Conservative lawmakers will cast an indicative vote on Monday to express their preferences if both make the ballot. If neither later withdraws, the choice will be made by the 172,000 party members across the nation, with the outcome being published on Friday.
Mordaunt will come under intense pressure to step aside and not force a membership vote if Sunak is the strong favorite among lawmakers.
Grant Shapps, the home secretary and a backer of Sunak, stated that the former Treasury chief did not believe he had the election “in the bag.”
Shapps stated that the candidate was “speaking to colleagues this morning and working very hard to gain those supporters who were perhaps with Boris Johnson earlier.” But hey, Penny is a great coworker, so I’ll let her handle it. Let’s see what happens.
Sunak, who finished second to Truss in the Conservative leadership contest to succeed Johnson this summer, has pledged to lead with “purity, professionalism, and accountability” in contrast to the instability that has dogged the previous two prime ministers.
Johnson abruptly withdrew from the contest on Sunday night, putting an end to a brief, high-profile quest to reclaim the position of prime minister from which he was dismissed less than three months prior due to ethics problems.
Johnson returned from a Caribbean vacation by plane and spent the weekend attempting to win over fellow Conservative legislators. He claimed late Sunday to have the support of 102 coworkers. But he was far behind Sunak in support, and said he had concluded that “you can’t govern effectively unless you have a united party in Parliament. ”
Johnson’s potential comeback had further polarised the Conservative Party, which was already fractured.
Although he guided the party to a resounding electoral win in 2019, his premiership was marred by ethical and financial scandals that ultimately proved to be too much for the party to endure.
In a statement released on Sunday, Johnson asserted that he was “well situated to deliver a Conservative triumph” in the 2024 general election. And he said that he likely would have won a ballot of Conservative Party members against either of his rivals.
But “I have regretfully come to the decision that this would simply not be the appropriate thing to do over the course of the previous days,” he said.
He hinted he might be back, however, saying: “I believe I have much to offer but I am afraid that this is simply not the right time.
“Truss resigned on Thursday (local time) after a contentious 45 days in office, admitting that she was unable to carry out her disastrous economic plan to slash taxes, which she was forced to abandon after it provoked resentment within her party and weeks of market turbulence.
Sunak, who led the Treasury from 2020 until this summer, managed to keep the British economy from collapsing during the coronavirus outbreak. He resigned in July in opposition to Johnson’s direction.
The crisis inside the Conservative Party is increasing calls for a general election. There does not need to be one until the end of 2024 under the British parliamentary system, though the government has the authority to call one earlier.
That currently seems unlikely. Opinion polls say an election would spell disaster for the Conservatives, with the left-of-centre Labour Party winning a large majority..
Sunak closes in as Johnson declines to become the next prime minister of the United Kingdom.
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