Former Prime Minister Boris Johnson arrives at Gatwick Airport in London following the resignation of Liz Truss as Prime Minister. Gareth Fuller/PA via AP
Former Prime Minister Boris Johnson arrives at Gatwick Airport in London following the resignation of Liz Truss as Prime Minister. Gareth Fuller/PA via AP
Former British Prime Minister Boris Johnson says he will not run to lead the Conservative Party, ending intense speculation about a comeback.
Johnson, who was ousted in July amid ethics scandals, was widely expected to run to replace Liz Truss, who quit last week.
He has spent the weekend trying to gain support from fellow MPs, and said he had amassed more than 100 votes, the threshold to run.
But he was far behind former Treasury chief Rishi Sunak in support. Johnson said he had concluded that “you can’t govern effectively unless you have a united party in Parliament”.
Sunak garnered the public support of over 100 Tory MPs to forge ahead of his two main rivals: Johnson and ex-Cabinet minister Penny Mordaunt.
The Conservative Party hastily ordered a contest that aims to finalise nominations Monday and install a new prime minister — its third this year — within a week.
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.
Sunak has the backing of at least 124 Conservative MPs, according to unofficial tallies compiled by British news organisations. That’s well ahead of the 100 nominations required to qualify.
“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.
Britain's Prime Minister Liz Truss has resigned. Photo / AP
Truss quit Thursday 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.
Truss became the third Conservative prime minister to be toppled in as many years, and she will go down as the shortest-serving leader in British history.
Her resignation extends the instability that has shaken Britain since it broke off from the European Union and leaves its leadership in limbo as the country faces a cost-of-living crisis and looming recession.
“I cannot deliver the mandate on which I was elected by the Conservative Party,” Truss, 47, said outside her 10 Downing Street office.
Financial markets breathed a sigh of relief, but now a divided ruling party must quickly find a leader who can unify its warring factions. Truss said she will remain in office until a replacement is chosen.
Who is frontrunner Rishi Sunak?
Sunak, who was Treasury chief from 2020 until this summer, steered Britain’s slumping economy through the coronavirus pandemic. He oversaw billions of pounds in government handouts to help businesses and workers hard hit by Covid-19. He quit in July in protest of Johnson’s leadership.
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.
Conservative Party leadership candidate Rishi Sunak leaves his campaign office, in London, Sunday, Oct. 23, 2022. (AP Photo/Alberto Pezzali)
Tory voters backed Truss over Sunak, but he was proved right when Truss’ unfunded tax-cutting package triggered chaos in the markets in September.
Sunak was regarded by many as the Conservatives’ brightest rising star. Born to Indian parents who moved to Britain from East Africa, Sunak attended the exclusive Winchester College private school and studied at Oxford.
Some see his elite education and work for the investment bank Goldman Sachs and a hedge fund as a liability because it makes him seem out of touch with ordinary voters.
1/ Boris Johnson delivered Brexit and the great vaccine roll-out.
He led our country through some of the toughest challenges we have ever faced, and then took on Putin and his barbaric war in Ukraine.
In the past year he faced heavy criticism for being slow to respond to Britain’s cost-of-living crisis. His reputation also took a hit after he was fined by police for attending a lockdown-flouting birthday party at Downing Street in June 2020.
Some also criticized him following revelations that his wife, Akshata Murthy, avoided paying taxes on her overseas income.
One of the other top contenders in the race is ex-Cabinet minister Penny Mordaunt.
Mordaunt, 49, came third after Sunak and Truss in the last Tory leadership race, when she ran with a campaign named “PM 4 PM.” Mordaunt did not hold a senior post in Johnson’s Cabinet, and she positioned herself as offering a clean break from his scandal-tainted government.
