- Jasmine Andersson
- BBC correspondent
image source,Reuters
Johnson announced his retirement from the Conservative Party leadership race
Former British Prime Minister Boris Johnson announced he would withdraw from the Conservative Party leadership race, saying he had enough support to run but it would not be “the right thing to do”.
Rishi Sunak, the former chancellor of the exchequer, and Penny Mordaunt, the cabinet minister, will remain in the running – with Sunak leading public support among MPs.
Johnson said he had “a very good chance” of success if he entered the competition and got it wrong, and then “went back to Downing Street on Friday.”
But, he said, now “we need a united party in parliament”.
On Thursday (October 20), Liz Truss (Zhuhuisi) stepped down after 45 days as Prime Minister and the race for the new Prime Minister began.
Nominations for the campaign close on Monday afternoon and candidates need the support of at least 100 Conservative MPs to compete.
The latest BBC statistics show there are 155 people who publicly claim to support Sunak and 25 people who support Mordant.
According to this count, Johnson has 54 supporters, although he claims he has 102. Not all 357 MPs have publicly stated who they support.
Sunak could become prime minister as early as Monday, with a new prime minister by the end of the week at the latest.
Johnson said he was interested in running because “I took my party to a big win less than three years ago, so I think I’m in a unique position now to avoid a general election.”
“The general elections will be more distracting and catastrophic for the government at a time when the government must focus on the economic pressures facing families across the country.”
The next general elections will be held in January 2025. But the new prime minister – already the third this year – could come under increasing pressure from the opposition to hold general elections before then.
“I can confidently say that I have a high bar of 102 nominations, including one proponent and one second, and I can submit my nomination tomorrow,” Johnson said.
“Chances are very good that I will succeed in the Conservative Party election, and then I will probably go back to Downing Street on Friday.”
“But unfortunately, in the last few days I have come to the conclusion that this is not going to be the right thing to do.”
“If you can’t have a united party in parliament, you can’t govern effectively.”
He said he contacted Sunak and Mordant because “he wants us to be united in the national interest, which unfortunately we have not been able to find a way to do”.
“I’m afraid the best course of action is not to let my nomination go further and give my support to whoever wins.”
“I’m sure I can contribute a lot, but I’m afraid this isn’t really the right time.”
Analysis – BBC Chief Political Correspondent Nick Eardley
This is a huge development. I spoke on the phone tonight with Boris Johnson supporters who believed he would race. Tonight, I’m sure he won’t.
In his statement, Johnson said he believed he should win the nomination and be back in Downing Street by Friday. But he admits he has a hard time joining his party in parliament.
The former prime minister said he has 102 supporters. We have no way of verifying this, the public figures are lower than this and we may never know for sure. Basically, many MPs are skeptical of the numbers claimed by his camp.
All of which makes Sunak a big favorite. But Penny Mordant will be looking to win over Johnson’s supporters in the next few hours, so she’ll prove she has a legion of lawmakers behind her.
The opposition should criticize Johnson for saying he is “in a unique position to avoid a general election”.
Sunak said on Twitter that “we will forever be grateful” for Johnson’s work in office, including completing the Brexit process and launching a vaccine.
“Even if he has decided not to run for the premiership, I really hope he will continue to contribute to the public good at home and abroad,” he wrote.
And while Sunak is currently the leader, a source close to the former treasurer said: “We take nothing for granted.”
They told the BBC: “Rich will continue to discuss with his colleagues the best way to join the party and move the country forward before tomorrow morning’s nomination papers.”
Labor deputy leader Angela Rayner repeated Labor’s call for immediate general elections.
He said: “The (conservative) Tories are going to hand Rishi Sunak the keys of the country without him saying a word about how to run the country. Nobody voted on that.”
“Perhaps unsurprisingly he escaped supervision: after all, he was so bad a few weeks ago that he was beaten by Liz Truss.”
Johnson became prime minister after winning the 2019 election, but resigned in July after government ministers overthrew his leadership.
Truss succeeded him as the 56th Prime Minister of the United Kingdom. He beat Sunak in the leadership race this summer.
However, his short term as prime minister only lasted 45 days.
His September 23 “mini-budget,” which sparked economic turmoil and a series of government policy reversals, led to his resignation Thursday, his second leadership battle in three months.
