Rishi Sunak is now the frontrunner to succeed recently retired Conservative Party leader Liz Truss. Especially now that former Prime Minister Boris Johnson has pulled out of the leadership battle.
At the moment, Rishi Sunak is also the only official candidate for the leadership of the Conservative Party and with him the British Prime Minister. Penny Mordaunt has previously run as a candidate, but she has yet to gather the 100 necessary statements of support from Conservative MPs. Sunak may have already been set today.
So it will not be Boris Johnson. He explained his decision in a statement: “There is a very good chance that I will be successful in an election among members of the Conservative Party and that I will indeed be back in Downing Street by Friday. But over the past few days, I have unfortunately come to the conclusion that this would not be the right choice. You cannot judge. Effectively unless you have a unified party in Parliament.”
Johnson also said he is “well positioned” to win the 2024 general election.
Only 44 days as prime minister
Johnson had already garnered enough support to run for election to become leader of the United Kingdom once again. Politician and Johnson supporter James Dodridge said on Twitter yesterday that more than a hundred Conservative MPs had gathered behind him. Johnson returned to London on Saturday from a vacation in the Dominican Republic.
Liz Truss, who recently succeeded Johnson as prime minister, resigned on Thursday, prompting a new leadership election. Boris Johnson’s scandal-plagued successor at the time had only 44 days as prime minister. Boris Johnson served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 2019 to 2022. He previously served as Mayor of London (2008-2016).
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big economic crisis
Yesterday, Rishi Sunak announced that he has officially announced his candidacy for the leadership of the Conservative Party and with him the British Prime Minister. “The UK is a great country, but we are facing a major economic crisis. That is why I am nominated to lead the Conservative Party and our next Prime Minister. I want to restore the economy, unite our party and help our country,” Sunak said in a tweet.
According to British media, the former finance minister managed to get enough supporters within the party to participate in the leadership election. On Sunday morning, according to the BBC, the counter hit 129, well above the 100 required to participate.
If only one candidate gets the necessary hundreds of statements of support on Monday afternoon, that candidate automatically becomes the leader of the new party and thus also Prime Minister of Great Britain.
Liz Truss resigned as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom after just six weeks:
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