LONDON (Reuters) – Rishi Sunak appeared poised to become Britain’s next prime minister after Boris Johnson withdrew from Sunday’s election campaign.
Mr Johnson rushed home from his Caribbean vacation to enter Monday’s contest to replace Liz Truss, the woman who succeeded him in September after a string of scandals forced him to resign. He was trying to secure the support of 100 legislators for this purpose.
He secured the support of 102 MPs and could have “returned to Downing Street” but failed to convince Sunak or other candidate Penny Mordaunt to unite “in the national interest”. .
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“I believe I have a lot to offer, but I fear that now is simply not the right time,” Johnson said.
The former prime minister secured the support of just under 60 Conservative MPs by Sunday. This was well below half of the nearly 150 endorsements Sunak received.
The pound gained more than half a cent against the dollar before opening in Asia.
Johnson’s statement is likely to pave the way for his arch-rival, 42-year-old former finance minister Sunak, to become prime minister, possibly as soon as Monday. He replaces Truss, who was forced to resign after starting an economic program.
According to the rules, if one candidate secures the support of 100 Conservative MPs, they will be named prime minister on Monday.
If two candidates cross the threshold, they will advance to a caucus vote and the winner will be announced on Friday. This comes days before new Finance Minister Jeremy Hunt reveals the state of the country’s finances in his budget plan. October 31st.
This sparked concerns that Johnson would return to Downing Street with the support of party members rather than the majority of members of Parliament, severely dividing the party. did.
While some Johnson supporters could have switched to Mr. Mordaunt, who had stepped forward as a unity candidate, many quickly switched to Mr. Sunak. Sources close to Mordaunt’s campaign say the former defense minister will continue to participate in the campaign.
“She’s the most likely unification candidate to pull together the Conservative wings,” said a source.
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Rishi Sunak attends a Cabinet meeting of senior government officials in London, September 1, 2020. REUTERS/Toby Melville
Mr Johnson has had a major impact on UK politics since becoming mayor of London in 2008 and being the face of the Brexit vote in 2016. In 2019 he led the Conservative Party to a landslide election, but he was sacked after just three years. later by an uprising of his ministers.
Sunak said he hopes Johnson will continue to contribute to public life “at home and abroad.”
A Sunak supporter, who requested anonymity, said his main reaction was relief.
Another Conservative MP, Lucy Allan, said on Twitter: “I supported Prime Minister Boris but I think he did the right thing for the country.”
Other Johnson supporters quickly flew the ship.
“In politics, a day is a long time,” said Cabinet Office Minister Nadim Zahawi, who published an article praising Johnson on the Daily Telegraph’s website minutes ago.
“Rishi is very talented, commands a strong conservative majority in parliament and has my full support and loyalty,” he said.
Earlier, many of the Conservative MPs who normally support Mr Johnson made headlines around the world, sounding alarm bells that the country needed a period of stability after months of turmoil. Saying this, he switched his support for Mr. Sunak.
Mr Johnson also faces a Commission of Privileges investigation into whether he misled Congress at a Downing Street party during the COVID-19 lockdown. have a nature.
Mr. Sunak first came to public attention at the age of 39 when he became finance minister in Johnson’s government. That was just when the COVID-19 pandemic arrived in the UK and he developed a furlough scheme to support millions through multiple lockdowns.
“I served as your prime minister and helped guide the economy through the most difficult times,” Sunak said in a statement on Sunday. If you make the right choices, the opportunities are staggering.”
If elected, Sunak would become Britain’s first Indian prime minister.
His family moved to England in the 1960s. During this period, many people from the former British colonies arrived to help rebuild the country after World War II.
After graduating from Oxford University, he attended Stanford University where he met his wife, Akshata Murthy. His wife Akshata Murthy’s father is Indian billionaire NR Narayana Murthy, founder of outsourcing giant Infosys.
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Written by Kate Holton. Additional reporting by William Schomberg and Maria Ponnezhath.Edited by Toby Chopra and Daniel Wallis
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