Boris Johnson withdraws from the leadership struggle, and the path appears clear for Rishi Sunak

NOS . News•Yesterday, 22:08•modified Today 01:02

Former British Prime Minister Boris Johnson withdraws from the leadership struggle in the Conservative Party. This paves the way for former Finance Minister Rishi Sunak to succeed Liz Truss as Prime Minister.

Johnson, who resigned as prime minister this summer after a series of scandals, said in a statement he believed he had a good chance of returning to Downing Street next week. He also says he could give the Conservatives a victory in the 2024 parliamentary elections.

However, he does not run for the position of party leader, which automatically entails the premiership. “Unfortunately, I have had to conclude in recent days that this would not be the right move. You cannot govern effectively without a united party in Parliament.”

“unbiased”

Johnson says he has tried unsuccessfully in recent days to align with the other two candidates, Sunak and Benny Mordaunt. The Conservative Party will vote to succeed Truss the next day.

With Johnson out of the race, Sunak (42) appears to be the best candidate. Unlike Mordaunt, he is reassured by the 100 statements of support from MPs needed to participate. According to the BBC, he has nearly 150 people, which is more than enough for him to run for leadership.

Reporter Arjen van der Horst:

“I saw that Johnson had a lot more problems than Sunak getting support from party members. Sunak had already crossed the 100-vote limit on Saturday morning, and Johnson’s counter was at 50. Who backed Sunak, including Suila Braverman, Minister The interior who resigned on Wednesday is usually seen as a supporter of Johnson, so this was writing on the wall.

Johnson threatened to face the same problem as Truss, who was more popular in the Conservative constituency than with his faction in the House of Commons. Johnson also alluded to this in his statement. He is convinced he could have won, but as he says: I don’t want to become prime minister of a divided faction. But there has also been a lot of pressure from party donors who want them to present Al-Sinak as a candidate for unity.

Other than Sunak, Benny Mordaunt is still in the race and we don’t know what she’s going to do. Sunak is seen by many Johnson supporters as Judas, who stabbed Johnson in the back by resigning as Chancellor of the Exchequer this summer. So it’s possible that members who supported Johnson are now defecting to Mordaunt. But there is a very good chance that Sunak will be prime minister the next day.”