Former British Prime Minister Boris Johnson abruptly announced his withdrawal from the campaign for 10 Downing Street after admitting he cannot bring the fractured Conservative Party together.
Johnson, who had 59 MPs’ public support but needed 100 to stay in the race, claimed he had “reached out” to Sunak and Mordaunt, his opponents for the leadership, to see if they might cooperate for the good of the country. However, this had not been successful.
According to UK-based The Telegraph, Penny Mordaunt, Rishi Sunak‘s lone remaining challenger in the campaign to become the next prime minister, announced she would not leave the contest.
With the support of more than 140 Tory MPs, Sunak, the former chancellor, has a very strong chance of winning. Mordaunt trails with 26 percent of the popular vote.
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He said in a statement that he had obtained the necessary 100 nominations to appear on the ballot, and that if he ran, there was a “very good probability” that he would return to Downing Street by the end of the week.
But I have regrettably come to the unfortunate realisation over the past few days that this would simply not be the correct thing to do, he continued. Without a cohesive party in Parliament, it is impossible to effectively govern.
“And though I have reached out to both Rishi and Penny – because I hoped that we could come together in the national interest – we have sadly not been able to work out a way of doing this.
“Therefore I am afraid the best thing is that I do not allow my nomination to go forward and commit my support to whoever succeeds.”
While Sunak is now the clear favourite, a source from Mordaunt’s campaign told The Telegraph that she was “still running” for leader.
“Penny is the unifying candidate who is most likely to keep the wings of the Conservative Party together and polling shows that she is the most likely candidate to hold onto the seats the Conservative Party gained in 2019,” they source said.
“Ed Balls, shadow cabinet ministers and Labour advisers have all said Penny is the candidate Keir Starmer fears most.”
Regarding Brexit, the introduction of vaccines, and the response to Vladimir Putin’s conflict in Ukraine, Sunak said he will always be “grateful” to Johnson, adding: “Although he has decided not to run for PM again, I genuinely hope he continues to contribute to public life at home and abroad.”
The growth minister, Alex Burghart, has backed Rishi Sunak wholeheartedly. Prior to now, Burghart had not stated a preference for the incoming Tory leader and prime minister.
