Boris Johnson, former UK prime minister, has said that he has no interest in becoming the leader of the Conservative Party. He received enough votes from MLAs to move on to the next round, still, he was far behind from the front-runner Rishi Sunak.
Statements of Boris Johnson
Following the departure of Liz Truss, who was in power only for a few weeks, Johnson said that he had been “overwhelmed by the amount of people who recommended that I should once again contest for the Conservative Party leadership.”
He claimed to be “uniquely positioned to turn away from the general election” and to have overcome the “extremely high hurdle of 102 nominations, including a proposer and a second” necessary to enter the race.
On Sunday, Boris Johnson announced his decision to withdraw from the contest to lead Britain. With the support of Conservative Party members, Johnson added, “There is a very good chance that I would be successful in the election and that I may indeed return to Downing Street on Friday.”
“But over the past few days, I have come to a conclusion that doing this would be morally & ethically wrong. Without a united party in parliament, it is impossible to successfully govern”, he added.
Boris Johnson stated that he would not allow his nomination to move forward and that he would pledge his support to “whoever prevails,” implying that he did not intend to back any specific candidate.
“I feel that I have much to contribute but I am afraid that this is simply not the right time,” he concluded in his letter to his followers, giving the impression that he was leaving the door open for possible future return.
Will Rishi Sunak become the next UK PM?
According to Sky News, Rishi Sunak, whose resignation as finance minister in July led to Johnson’s downfall, passed the requirement of 100 lawmakers and secured 142 supporters on Sunday.
Unless Penny Mordaunt receives the required 100 votes to necessitate a run-off vote among party members, Rishi Sunak will be elected as the leader of the Conservative Party and become a prime minister today, that is on October 24, 2022.Â
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