CNN
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Former British Prime Minister Boris Johnson has withdrawn from the race to become the next Conservative Party leader.
Johnson claimed to have won the support of 100 MPs, the minimum number needed to clear the threshold for appearing on the ballot for Conservative membership, but said, “This is correct. He refused to run for office, saying, “No, it’s not.”
His announcement comes after former UK Finance Minister Rishi Sunak has officially entered the campaign to lead the Conservative Party.
Snack has already collected 100 nominations from the Tories he needs to run. Snack tried to become party leader over the summer following Johnson’s resignation, but was defeated by Liz Truss, who resigned on Thursday.
A run-off between the two could have split the ruling Conservative Party, as many of Johnson’s supporters blame Sunak’s resignation in July for sparking the collapse of the government. The Conservative Party, which has been in power for 12 years, is now in turmoil following the resignations of Johnson and Truss.
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Opinions were divided within the Conservative Party about whether Mr Johnson could return to the top job, and many MPs feared he could become prime minister for a second time. He resigned in July after a string of scandals.
The former prime minister is expected to appear before the Commons Privileges Committee in the coming weeks to investigate whether he misled parliament over his political party.
Sunak announced on Sunday morning that he would be entering the contest. He tweeted, “Britain is a great country, but we are facing a serious economic crisis. That is why I am the leader of the Conservative Party and the position to be the next Prime Minister. We will rebuild the economy and unite the party. I want to do my best for the country,” he said.
Sunak tweeted after Johnson announced on Sunday that he did not want to be the next leader of the Conservative Party. He guided our country through some of the most difficult challenges we have ever faced and then undertook Putin and his barbaric war in Ukraine. We will always be grateful to him. doing. ”
Sunak will face off with Speaker of the House Penny Mordaunt on Sunday, who said she regretted the so-called ‘mini-budget’ that led to Britain’s economic turmoil and Truss’ resignation.
In an interview on Sunday, Mordaunt said in an interview with the BBC that he “very much regrets that the budget was small … I had expressed my concerns even before I entered the Cabinet”, adding that “the Cabinet did not know” the budget. He added that there were details about
The last time the Conservatives held a leadership election, after the fall of Johnson’s government, Truss was number one, Sunak was number two and Mordaunt was number three.
Graham Brady, the Conservative official in charge of the process, said any candidate would have to receive at least 100 nominations from their party’s MPs by 2pm local time on Monday.
Truss stepped down on Thursday, just six weeks into her disastrous term that has plunged Britain into political and economic turmoil. Her successor will be her fifth prime minister to lead the country since she voted in favor of Brexit in 2016.
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The leader of the main opposition Labor Party, Kiel Sturmer, renewed his call for Sunday’s general election after claiming people were “fed up” with the consequences of the Conservative leadership and government’s decisions.
“There are choices to be made. We need a general election! asked in a BBC interview.
