LONDON – Rishi Sunak will likely be inaugurated as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom on Monday after Boris Johnson dramatically abandoned his hopes of returning to No. 10 Downing Street.
In a dramatic statement Sunday evening after a weekend of polling Conservative MPs, Johnson declared it “not the time” for him to try to get back when Liz Truss steps down this week.
His decision leaves Sanak, his fierce rival and former chancellor, in pole position to take over as UK prime minister in the coming days – although third-placed Penny Mordaunt could see a boost in support following Johnson’s abrupt exit from the race.
“I think I have a lot to offer, but I fear this is simply not the time,” Johnson said in a statement.
Rules approved by Tory chiefs after Truss’ resignation state that any candidate hoping to succeed her requires the support of 100 fellow Conservative Party members by the time nominations close on Monday at 2pm.
Sunak passed that hurdle easily by late Saturday afternoon, with Johnson and Mordaunt both lagging behind and seemingly struggling to make the cut.
In his statement on Sunday night, Johnson claimed he already has the numbers needed, and is confident of winning enough support in the subsequent poll of core Conservative Party members to put himself back in 10th place. But he said there was an urgent need for it. Party unity means he will drop out of the race instead.
“You cannot govern effectively unless you have a united party in Parliament,” Johnson said. “And although I reached out to both Rishi and Penny – because I hoped we could work together in the national interest – we unfortunately could not find a way to do so.
“So I’m afraid the best thing is that I’m not letting my candidacy go ahead and committing my support to whoever succeeds.”
Johnson’s critics claimed he simply never had the numbers to meet the 100 MP threshold, citing his lack of announced nominations and deep anger within the party over his scandal-hit years in Downing Street.
Whatever the truth, with his main rival now out of the race, Sunak will be optimistic about winning the competition at the first attempt on Monday, without the need for a grassroots ballot of the party. Notables including Chancellor Jeremy Hunt rushed behind Sunak on Sunday evening after Johnson exited the race.
Mordaunt’s allies insisted she would remain in the contest and hoped to secure enough support from former Johnson supporters to reach the magic total of 100 MPs – forcing members to vote in the coming days.
But most observers believe that Sunak is now firmly on his way to Downing Street, just seven weeks after being defeated by Truss in the latest Conservative leadership contest. Victory would have seen his inauguration as Britain’s first Hindu prime minister, and on Diwali – the five-day Hindu and Sikh festival of lights.
in Sunday evening series of tweets Sunak paid tribute to Johnson, the man who gave him his big break in politics in February 2020 – wresting him from small cabinet posts to make him chancellor – before the couple’s dramatic rift that led to Sunak’s resignation from Cabinet in July 2022, precipitating Johnson’s departure from No. 10.
“Boris Johnson delivered Brexit and the amazing vaccine launch,” said Sunak. He led our country through some of the toughest challenges we’ve ever faced, then confronted Putin and his barbaric war in Ukraine. We will always be grateful to him for that.
“Although he has decided not to run for prime minister again, I really hope he continues to contribute to public life at home and abroad.”
Johnson had always made clear that he hoped to one day return as prime minister after he was ousted in July. The moment of his parting in front of the House of Commons in its last session of the Prime Minister’s questions “Farewelldarling ”- a reference to the famous phrase of the actor Arnold Schwarzenegger “I will be back” from the films“ Terminator ”.
In fact, Johnson’s former teammates, including his former top lieutenant, Dominic Cummings, claimed that he tacitly backed Truss’ bid for 10th place precisely because he thought she was unsuitable for the job and would therefore crash and burn once she fell to No. 10. 10- It might give him a chance to come back.
But even Johnson was surprised by how quickly Truss collapsed. When he was on vacation with his family in the Caribbean She resigned suddenly on Thursday After just 44 days in power, he was forced to return home late Friday night to begin his nascent leadership bid.
He was supported by several dignitaries including Secretary of State James Cleverly, Cabinet Office Minister Nazim al-Zahawi and Business Secretary Jacob Rees-Mogg.
But several other former allies advised him not to go for another round, and several right-wing senior figures in the party supported Sunak instead.
Even Johnson’s closest supporters were surprised by his decision on Sunday evening. Embarrassing, columnist Written by Al-Zahawi Johnson’s drive support was posted at 9 p.m., the moment Johnson was withdrawing from the race. Zahawi announced 29 minutes Later that he was now supporting your age instead.
Another prominent supporter of Johnson, James Dodridge, chirp Simply: “Well, that was unexpected. Get to bed!” An hour later, he, too, announced that he was supporting Sunak.
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