United Kingdom: Boris Johnson pulls out of PM race
New Delhi: Former prime minister Boris Johnson has ended his bid to return to power within months of being ousted, claiming that although he had the numbers, he would not run to replace outgoing leader Liz Truss, who resigned as Conservative party leader on Thursday after just 45 days in office.
Johnson claimed to have won the support of 102 colleagues – two clear of the threshold needed – but only about 60 had publicly stated their support for him.
Johnson said he reached the decision reluctantly after recognizing he would not lead “a united party in parliament”. He said, “In the course of the last days I have sadly come to the conclusion that this would simply not be the right thing to do,” and, “You can’t govern effectively unless you have a united party in parliament.”
Former chancellor Rishi Sunak appears set to become party leader and prime minister. He ended Sunday with more than 165 supporters ahead of Monday’s nomination deadline. Sunak came second in the race against Truss over the summer.
Johnson and Sunak held talks late into Saturday night, according to reports. The ex-leader also reportedly spoke on Sunday to Mordaunt, who was said to have rebuffed his calls to back him, noting her supporters were likely to split more for Sunak.
