Former British Prime Minister Boris Johnson announced on Sunday October 23 that he was renouncing to be a candidate in the internal election for the Conservative Party, which must appoint the successor to Liz Truss, who resigned on Thursday.
According to the British daily The TimesMr Johnson would have the hundred sponsorships necessary to stand in the internal election but, according to him, “That wouldn’t be the right thing to do [vu que] that it is impossible to govern effectively without the support of a united party in Parliament”.
Earlier on Sunday, former finance minister Rishi Sunak announced he was running to become prime minister, on the eve of nominations closing. “The UK is a great country, but we are facing a deep economic crisiswrote Mr. Sunak, 42, on Twitter. That’s why I’m running to be the leader of the Conservative Party and your next prime minister. »
Penny Mordaunt also candidate to succeed Truss
This new campaign for Downing Street opened on Thursday following the resignation of Liz Truss, after only 44 days in office. At the beginning of September, she was elected by the members of the Conservative Party against Rishi Sunak, who will therefore perhaps have his revenge in the coming days. After a political week full of twists and turns, two candidates have declared themselves: Rishi Sunak therefore, and the Minister for Relations with Parliament Penny Mordaunt.
Once the candidates have submitted their endorsements, the 357 Tory MPs will vote. If there are two candidates left in the running, the party’s 170,000 members will have to decide between them by an internet vote by October 28. In the event of a single candidate, he would enter Downing Street directly at the start of the week.
Penny Mordaunt, who denied having had negotiations with Boris Johnson’s camp, said she was “confident” on his sponsorships. Rishi Sunak and Boris Johnson, who have been at loggerheads for months, met on Saturday evening to, according to several media, discuss the possibility of a joint candidacy.
According to a survey of Sunday Telegraph, party voters would have greatly preferred the former prime minister to Rishi Sunak: just over half of them think he would be the best prime minister, against 28% for Rishi Sunak. And nearly 60% of those Tory voters believe Mr Johnson’s departure earlier this summer was a mistake.
Rishi Sunak backed by former interior minister
Rishi Sunak has however received key backers since Saturday, including that of Suella Braverman, who served as interior minister until his resignation on Wednesday, and trade minister Kemi Badenoch, both influential to the right of the “Tories”. The party “is not a tool for the personal ambitions of an individual”said the latter to the Sunday Times.
The next Prime Minister will govern a country plunged into a serious cost of living crisis, with inflation exceeding 10%. He will have to calm the markets, which have been in a storm since the Truss government’s budget announcements at the end of September. He will also have to try to unite a deeply divided party, two years from the legislative elections.
Opposition Labor leader Keir Starmer reiterated his call for a snap election on Sunday. Labor is at its highest in the polls, after twelve years of conservative power. The next Conservative Prime Minister will be the fifth since 2016.
