Rishi Sunak, a former head of the British Treasury, was the front-runner in the Conservative Party’s race to succeed Liz Truss as prime minister as of Sunday (local time). In order to get an advantage over his two main competitors, former prime minister Boris Johnson and ex-Cabinet minister Penny Mordaunt, Sunak won the public backing of nearly 100 Tory legislators.
But widespread uncertainty remained after British media reported that Sunak held late-night talks with Johnson on Saturday (local time).
After the ruling party was left reeling from Truss’ swift demise following Johnson’s dismissal, speculation grew that the two may reach a deal to reunite the divided group.
The third new prime minister the Conservative Party will install this year is to be installed within a week of the nominations being finalised.
Sunak, 42, was runner-up after Truss in this summer’s Tory leadership race to replace Johnson after he was forced out by a string of ethics scandals.
He declared he would be participating in the most recent leadership race on Sunday (local time).
Unofficial counts obtained by British news organisations show that Sunak has the support of at least 124 Conservative lawmakers. That exceeds the necessary 100 nominations by a significant margin.
“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.
According to the unofficial counts, Johnson, who has not yet announced his candidacy, has received support from roughly 50 legislators, compared to about 23 for Mordaunt.
After returning to London over the weekend from a vacation in the Dominican Republic, UK Business Secretary Jacob Rees-Mogg told the BBC that he spoke with Johnson and “obviously he’s going to stand.”
If Johnson declares his candidacy, Mordaunt and Johnson have until Monday afternoon (local time) to secure 100 nominations. If all three pass the test, lawmakers will decide to remove one before taking a vote on the other two.
The two candidates would then be put to a vote online by the party’s 172,000 members.
A possible return to power for Johnson, 58, who officially quit only in early September, has deeply divided the Conservatives and alarmed many others.
Supporters say he is a vote winner and has enough support from lawmakers, but many critics warn that another Johnson government would be catastrophic for the party and the country.
A Johnson comeback would be a “certain disaster,” according to Northern Ireland Minister Steve Baker, a prominent member of the Conservative Party and a former Johnson supporter.
Johnson’s alleged lying to Parliament about breaking his government’s own coronavirus rules during parties at Downing Street is still under investigation, according to Baker.
Johnson’s legislative tenure might be put on hold if he is proven guilty.
For Boris and his approach, this is not the time, Baker told Sky News. We simply can’t do that again. “What we can’t do is have him as prime minister in circumstances where he’s bound to disintegrate, toppling the entire government.
However, Johnson was supported by a number of top Conservatives, notably Nadhim Zahawi, a second former Treasury secretary.
He expressed regret and honesty about his errors. He had discovered how to manage No. 10 and the nation more effectively thanks to his failures, Zahawi remarked.
Truss quit after a turbulent 45 days, conceding that she could not deliver on her botched tax-cutting economic package, which she was forced to abandon after it sparked fury within her party and weeks of turmoil in financial markets.
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 management.
In the summer contest to replace Johnson, Sunak called promises by Truss and other rivals to immediately slash taxes reckless “fairy tales” and argued that climbing inflation must be controlled first.
Tory voters backed Truss over Sunak, but he was proved right when Truss’ unfunded tax-cutting package triggered chaos in the markets in September.
Among the 357 Conservative legislators in Britain, several have yet to publicly endorse a candidate to succeed Truss.
UK Prime Minister: Sunak is in the lead, although Johnson has not yet declared
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