Former British Prime Minister Boris Johnson has withdrawn his bid to become leader of the Conservative Party, stating that it was “simply not the right time” for his return to no.10 Downing Street.
British political pundits had speculated that Johnson would make a bid to become PM once again, with the former Prime Minister cutting short his holiday in the Caribbean to enter the competition.
British Minister of State for International Trade, James Duddridge, had previously told the press that Johnson was “up for it” and had already secured over 100 nominations from fellow Conservative Party MPs.
However, it seems that Johnson's fans within the Conservative party might have overstated his popularity somewhat. The innumerable scandals that marred Johnson's time in office and eventually made him an untenable leader are still fresh in the minds of many, not least the British public. Political analysts cited by the BBC predicted that johnson actually had fewer than 60 Conservative MPs backing him – far below the 100 needed to be shortlisted.
Abortive bid
Boris Johnson was forced to step down as Prime Minister after a string of high-profile scandals during his term caused backbench MPs to revolt against his rule. His replacement, Liz Truss, survived just 45 days in the role, before resigning following a bungled “mini-budget” and growing pressure. She is now the shortest-serving prime minister in British history.
In a statement released by Boris Johnson, the former PM stated that he had a “very good chance” of returning to the position of Prime Minister, but had refused the opportunity.
“I have sadly come to the conclusion that this would simply not be the right thing to do. You can’t govern unless you have a united party in parliament,” he said. “I believe that I have much to offer but I am afraid that this is simply not the right time.”
Boris Johnson backers are reportedly “disappointed” at the decision, convinced that the PM would have won the leadership contest comfortably.
Conservative leadership race
The former British leader stated that he had reached out to the two declared candidates, Rishi Sunak (former Chancellor of the Exchequer) and Penny Mordaunt (Leader of the House of Commons), to attempt to “come together in the national interest”, but was unable to find an arrangement.
According to the BBC, 155 MPs have publicly backed Sunak’s leadership bid and 25 are currently backing Mordaunt. Sunak is now the favourite to become Prime Minister, with some speculating that he may assume the position as early as Monday.
In light of the disastrous leadership of Liz Truss, the opposition in the House of Commons is now calling for a General Election in order to decide the next Prime Minister. Labour deputy leader Angela Rayner has publicly called on the Tories to launch an immediate General Election.
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“The Tories are about to hand Rishi Sunak the keys to the country without him saying a single word about how we would govern. No one voted for this,” Rayner said.
The Conservative party has slumped to record lows in the polls, with the latest voting intention suggesting that Labour now has a 23% lead over the Conservatives.
Despite the growing calls for an election, the Conservatives intend to quickly elect a new leader. “A general election would be a further disastrous distraction just when the government must focus on the economic pressures faced by families across the country,” Boris Johnson said.
