Rishi Sunak could be named PM TODAY
After Boris Johnson withdrew from the Tory leadership contest, Rishi Sunak may be proclaimed as the new prime minister later today. Penny Mordaunt, meantime, maintains that she will “fight on” despite not yet having the necessary 100 backers to stay in the running as of the 2 p.m. deadline.
More than 150 Conservative MPs have publicly endorsed the former chancellor, who formally began his candidacy yesterday morning. More have joined team Sunak after Mr. Johnson withdrew from the contest.
Just 25 MPs had backed Ms. Mordaunt as of last night, compared to 155 MPs who had backed Mr. Sunak.
However, 54 more people who were rooting for Mr. Johnson to win the championship have yet to officially declare their new allegiance.
However, Mr. Johnson had earlier claimed that he had cleared the “extremely high threshold of 102 nominations” and that there was a “very strong probability” he would have won the leadership race.
The former prime minister said, however, that making another run for office was “just not the proper thing to do,” noting the need to “unify” the party.
When senior Brexiteers Steve Baker and former Home Secretary Suella Braverman, both of whom are well-liked on the Tory Right, backed Mr. Sunak, it is believed that he realized he could not achieve unity.
A source said last night that Sunak is “not taking anything for granted” and that he will “continue to talk to colleagues” and “consider how best to unify the party and push the country forward.” However, there was no quick comment from the Sunak camp.
When gaining the support of Grant Shapps, who took over as Home Secretary after Ms. Braverman resigned last week, and Chloe Smith, the Work and Pensions Secretary, Mr. Sunak looked to be moving farther ahead in the race yesterday.
Mr. Sunak will “bring together our divided party and restore stability to our Government,” according to James Heappey, minister of the armed forces.
In a piece for The Telegraph, Chancellor Jeremy Hunt supports Mr. Sunak and compares him to Winston Churchill for his courage to tell the “truth” in doing so.
The sole candidate for the leadership position remaining is the Speaker of the Commons, Ms. Mordaunt.
She said Tuesday, “I’m in this to win it,” but the resolute assertion came as it appeared she was having trouble gaining support.
But Friday night, a source with Ms. Mordaunt’s team said that Penny was still vying to lead the Conservative Party.
Polling indicates that Penny is the candidate most likely to keep the Conservative Party’s various sections united and that she is also the most likely to maintain the seats the Conservative Party won in 2019.
Penny is the contender Keir Starmer fears the most, according to Ed Balls, Shadow Cabinet members, and Labour experts.
She is not viewed as a candidate of the right, though, and is thus thought to be unlikely to win over a sizable portion of Mr. Johnson’s supporters.
As she urges Mr. Johnson’s supporters to support her candidacy instead, Ms. Mordaunt’s team has argued that she has dozens of MPs who have not yet publicly declared their support for her, despite the fact that she is well below the required level of 100 supporters.
Before a final ballot of party members, candidates must receive 100 nominations from Tory MPs by tomorrow at 2pm in order to stay in the running.
In other developments:
- Ms Mordaunt was claimed to have rebuffed attempts from Mr Johnson to get her to drop out of the race during a phone call
- She is reported to have told Mr Johnson that the majority of her supporters were more likely to have switched to Team Sunak, rather than backing his return to the premiership.
- Mr Johnson received public backing from 57 MPs, but a WhatsApp message to his supporters last night said he had reached the 100 threshold
- The message, sent by Northern Ireland Secretary Chris Heaton-Harris, said ‘all the paperwork’ had been completed to ensure he would appear on the ballot to replace Liz Truss.
- But in a statement last night, Mr Johnson said he was bowing out of the race despite reaching the ‘very high hurdle of 102 nominations’
- Mr Sunak praised Mr Johnson for having ‘led our country through some of the toughest challenges we have ever faced’
- Former Chancellor George Osborne also praised the ‘very welcome and sensible judgement call by Boris Johnson’
- But Mr Johnson loyalist Nadine Dorries revealed her disappointment that he had bowed out, saying that a general election was now inevitable
Rishi Sunak appears set to become the new Prime Minister today after Boris Johnson sensationally dropped out of the Tory leadership race last night
Mr Johnson earlier said he had in fact reached the ‘very high hurdle of 102 nominations’ and believed there was a ‘very good chance’ that he would have been successful in the leadership contest
As of last night, 155 MPs had said they are backing Mr Sunak, while just 25 had spoken out in support of Ms Mordaunt. But a further 54 who were hoping Mr Johnson would return to the premiership are yet to publicly reveal to whom they have switched allegiance
Now only Ms Mordaunt now stands in the way of Mr Sunak’s leadership bid. ‘I’m in this to win it,’ the Leader of the House of Commons earlier declared
‘It is simply not the right thing to do’: Boris Johnson bows out of race to return as PM
In statement this evening, former Prime Minister Boris Johnson confirmed he was bowing out of the race because it is ‘simply not the right thing to do’, despite claiming he had cleared the ‘very high hurdle of 102 nominations’.
He said: ‘In the last few days I have been overwhelmed by the number of people who suggested that I should once again contest the Conservative Party leadership, both among the public and among friends and colleagues in Parliament.
‘I have been attracted because I led our party into a massive election victory less than three years ago – and I believe I am therefore uniquely placed to avert a general election now.
‘A general election would be a further disastrous distraction just when the government must focus on the economic pressures faced by families across the country.
‘I believe I am well placed to deliver a Conservative victory in 2024 – and tonight I can confirm that I have cleared the very high hurdle of 102 nominations, including a proposer and a seconder, and I could put my nomination in tomorrow. There is a very good chance that I would be successful in the election with Conservative Party members – and that I could indeed be back in Downing Street on Friday.
‘But in the course of the last days I have sadly come to the conclusion that this would simply not be the right thing to do. You can’t govern effectively unless you have a united party in parliament.
‘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. I believe I have much to offer but I am afraid that this is simply not the right time.’
In a statement last night, Mr Johnson said: ‘In the last few days I have been overwhelmed by the number of people who suggested that I should once again contest the Conservative Party leadership, both among the public and among friends and colleagues in Parliament.
‘I have been attracted because I led our party into a massive election victory less than three years ago – and I believe I am therefore uniquely placed to avert a general election now.
‘A general election would be a further disastrous distraction just when the government must focus on the economic pressures faced by families across the country.
‘I believe I am well placed to deliver a Conservative victory in 2024 – and tonight I can confirm that I have cleared the very high hurdle of 102 nominations, including a proposer and a seconder, and I could put my nomination in tomorrow.
‘There is a very good chance that I would be successful in the election with Conservative Party members – and that I could indeed be back in Downing Street on Friday.
‘But in the course of the last days I have sadly come to the conclusion that this would simply not be the right thing to do. You can’t govern effectively unless you have a united party in parliament.
‘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.
‘I believe I have much to offer but I am afraid that this is simply not the right time.’
Following the statement, Mr Sunak said he hoped the former PM would contribute to ‘public life at home and abroad’.
He added: ‘Boris Johnson delivered Brexit and the great vaccine roll-out. He led our country through some of the toughest challenges we have ever faced, and then took on Putin and his barbaric war in Ukraine. We will always be grateful to him for that.
‘Although he has decided not to run for PM again, I truly hope he continues to contribute to public life at home and abroad. ‘
A jubilant Sunak-backing MP also told MailOnline: ‘I’ve known him since 1995: he never changes. He’s too thin skinned to be brave.’ Another Cabinet source said the ‘writing was on the wall’ for the ex-PM after a day of bluster.
Former Chancellor George Osborne added: ‘Very welcome and sensible judgement call by Boris Johnson – the country was heading for a constitutional crisis. Instead Rishi Sunak can now – with hard but necessary decisions – begin to restore Britain’s economic credibility and good governance.’
Mr Johnson’s hopes of a return had earlier gained traction when Foreign Secretary James Cleverly and Nadhim Zahawi, the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster, both declared their support.
Mr Zahawi earlier claimed ‘Boris 2.0’ had ‘learned from those mistakes’ he made during his first spell in No10 and would lead the Tories to ‘victory and prosperity’.
He saw a piece backing his former boss go online just as Mr Johnson’s bombshell statement dropped.
Mr Zahawi, who served as Chancellor in the final days of Mr Johnson’s premiership, is now backing Mr Sunak. He tweeted: ‘A day is a long time in politics… Given today’s news, it’s clear that we should turn to Rishi Sunak to become our next Prime Minister.
‘Rishi is immensely talented, will command a strong majority in the parliamentary Conservative Party, and will have my full support & loyalty.’
Former Culture Secretary and Mr Johnson loyalist Nadine Dorries also revealed her disappointment that he has bowed out, saying that a general election was now inevitable.
She said: ‘Boris would have won members vote – already had a mandate from the people.
‘Rishi and Penny, despite requests from Boris refused to unite which would have made governing utterly impossible. Penny actually asked him to step aside for her. It will now be impossible to avoid a GE.’
Former Attorney General Geoffrey Cox, a Sunak supporter, said: ‘A thoughtful, wise and statesmanlike decision by Boris Johnson to withdraw, reflecting the qualities that made so many of us originally put our faith in him three years ago.’
Last night there was no immediate response from the Sunak camp, with a source reportedly saying the ex-chancellor is ‘not taking anything for granted’
Tory leadership race timeline
Monday: Nominations for the race close, candidates making it through must have at least 100 Tory MPs backing them
Monday 3.30 pm: First round of voting (if more than one candidate gets through)
Monday 6pm: Result of first vote announced. If three make it through, the candidate with the fewest votes is be knocked out
Monday 6.30pm: ‘Indicative’ ballot held if two candidates are left, one may drop out
Tuesday-Friday: If two candidates make it through, Conservative Party members have the chance to vote online
Friday: The final vote closes and Britain’s new Prime Minister is announced
It came after Mr Johnson unsuccessfully reached out to his two main rivals in an attempt to make a pact.
Ms Mordaunt, now Mr Sunak’s only rival in the leadership bid, was claimed to have rebuffed attempts from the former Prime Minister to get her to drop out in a phone call.
She is reported to have told Mr Johnson that the majority of her supporters were more likely to have switched to Team Sunak, rather than backing his return to the premiership.
It also means Ms Mordaunt is likely to be short of the 100 backers needed to remain in contention.
Mr Johnson and Mr Sunak, meanwhile, met at 8pm last night, where the ex-PM is said to have told his former Chancellor that – if he re-entered No10 with Mr Sunak in a senior role – it would avoid a divisive battle.
But it was subsequently claimed this morning that no agreement had been struck between the pair following negotiations that last around three hours.
It comes as Mr Sunak appeared to be surging further ahead in the contest today as he moved near to 150 Tory MPs publicly supporting him today.
His leadership bid was further bolstered by the backing of former Home Secretary Suella Braverman, who is popular on the Tory Right, and her close ally Steve Baker.