The Conversation (0)
Greg Evans
Oct 24, 2022
Boris Johnson ends bid to return as UK’s next prime minister
AlJazeera
Boris Johnson has ruled himself out of running for the Tory leadership, despite claiming he had the support required to do so.
The former prime minister said: “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.
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“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.”
Boris Johnson said that due to the failure to reach a deal with Rishi Sunak and Penny Mordaunt, “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,” the former prime minister said.
Johnson's decision comes after days of speculation that he was going to announce a surprise attempt to return as prime minister just three months after he was forced to resign by his own MPs following a series of scandals.
Although Rishi Sunak and Penny Mordaunt are the only two MPs who have formally announced that they will be running Sunak is strongly considered to be the favourite and is highly likely to be confirmed as the next prime minister of the UK.
Here's how people are reacting to the news.
\u201cA tough day for those 102 MPs, though sadly we don\u2019t know who they are in order to personally commiserate.\u201d— Jessica Elgot (@Jessica Elgot) 1666555620
\u201c. @NadineDorries lemme kno if u wanna chat 2nite hunni xoxox\u201d— Joe Lycett (@Joe Lycett) 1666556634
\u201cWell this is awkward. Nadhim Zahawi article backing Boris Johnson is published at 9pm - 2 mins after he put out a statement saying he was pulling out of the race.\u201d— Kevin Schofield (@Kevin Schofield) 1666556288
\u201cThe pound is... rising (again)\u201d— Ed Conway (@Ed Conway) 1666556594
\u201cAs we say nowadays, what a cunt\u201d— John Harris (@John Harris) 1666555871
\u201cBoris Johnson is, by some distance, the worst thing ever to happen to British politics. A serial liar, a proven cheat, an enemy of common decency. If he has finally buckled under the weight of his own depravity, none of his supporters should be allowed to forget their complicity.\u201d— James Oh Brien (@James Oh Brien) 1666556689
\u201cBoris Johnson is out. Those 100 MPs who were definitely, absolutely, positively backing him will be devastated.\u201d— Larry the Cat (@Larry the Cat) 1666555308
\u201cNorth Korea has only had three unelected leaders since 1945. Tomorrow, Britain gets its fourth since 2016.\u201d— David__Osland (@David__Osland) 1666551381
\u201cThe \u2018biggest comeback since Lazarus\u2019 is off - we\u2019ll never know if Johnson really had the numbers\u2026says it\u2019s not the time, because he couldn\u2019t unite the party\u201d— Laura Kuenssberg (@Laura Kuenssberg) 1666555666
\u201cHope he kept the receipt\u201d— Nooruddean (@Nooruddean) 1666555975
\u201cIt is perhaps a little unfortunate for Nadhim Zahawi that this was published at the exact moment Boris pulled out.\u201d— Alan White (@Alan White) 1666555761
\u201cBREAKING: Boris Johnson pulls out of Conservative Party leadership race.. paving the way for @RishiSunak to become Britain\u2019s next Prime Minister. Great news. \ud83d\udc4f\ud83d\udc4f\u201d— Piers Morgan (@Piers Morgan) 1666555718
\u201cWait... Did the return of David Tennant vanquish Boris Johnson forever? #DoctorWho\u201d— Scarlet Pumpernickel \u270a\ud83c\udf0d\ud83c\udf08\ud83d\udce2\ud83c\udfb6\u2b05\ufe0f\ud83c\udff4\udb40\udc67\udb40\udc62\udb40\udc77\udb40\udc6c\udb40\udc73\udb40\udc7f (@Scarlet Pumpernickel \u270a\ud83c\udf0d\ud83c\udf08\ud83d\udce2\ud83c\udfb6\u2b05\ufe0f\ud83c\udff4\udb40\udc67\udb40\udc62\udb40\udc77\udb40\udc6c\udb40\udc73\udb40\udc7f) 1666555965
\u201cBoris Johnson on a plane back to the Caribbean in 3\u20262\u2026\u201d— Gordon Bennett Esq (@Gordon Bennett Esq) 1666555976
\u201cweird that we now gotta commend Boris Johnson for his work in keeping Boris Johnson away from power\u201d— Sullen cur (@Sullen cur) 1666555979
\u201cBoris doing a \u201cI\u2019ve got 100 votes, they all just live up by my Gran and go to a different school\u201d\u201d— Shutts (@Shutts) 1666555718
\u201cOops\u201d— Nooruddean (@Nooruddean) 1666555317
\u201cOut in Westminster having the time of my life with my 100 supporter MPs. They're all just out of frame, laughing too.\u201d— Phillip Dyte (@Phillip Dyte) 1666539735
\u201c12 hours apart.\u201d— Scott Bryan (@Scott Bryan) 1666557256
\u201cThose FIVE Zahawi u-turns in full:\n\nServing Boris\n\u201cHe\u2019s got to go\u201d\nChancellor, yes please \nLetter: Actually you should resign\nI\u2019m backing Boris\nWe must support Rishi\u201d— Tim Shipman (@Tim Shipman) 1666557710
\u201cHow many cows have you got?\n\nI\u2019ve got a hundred cows\n\nWell I\u2019ve got a hundred and *two* nominations\u201d— Tom Peck (@Tom Peck) 1666557962
\u201cIt\u2019s going to be a great 5 weeks for any comic who can go a Sunak impression.\u201d— Richard K Herring (@Richard K Herring) 1666557816
\u201cCan you file 600 words with a new top asap we\u2019re right up against it now thanks\u201d— Alice Jones (@Alice Jones) 1666557284
\u201cAnd so it was\u201d— Esther Webber (@Esther Webber) 1666557941
\u201cJust an all round humiliation.\u201d— Adam Bienkov (@Adam Bienkov) 1666558621
\u201cThese 102\u2026. Really? For the sake of history we need to know who they are\u2026 because it\u2019s a number that will crop up again and again in future..#Boris\u201d— Simon McCoy (@Simon McCoy) 1666558819
\u201cNADHIM ZAHAWI HAS JUST BACKED A TORY LEADERSHIP CONTENDER. BUT WHO IS IT, CHRIS KAMARA?\n\nI don't know, Jeff\u201d— Graeme Demianyk (@Graeme Demianyk) 1666559604
\u201c\u201cI flew back early from my expensive holiday to take part in the Tory leadership election, desperately called every two bit cunt of an MP to successfully secure the required nominations, but then, assured of a landslide amongst the party membership, simply decided not to run.\u201d\u201d— Scary Brenda \ud83c\udff3\ufe0f\u200d\ud83c\udf08\ud83c\udff3\ufe0f\u200d\u26a7\ufe0f (they/them) (@Scary Brenda \ud83c\udff3\ufe0f\u200d\ud83c\udf08\ud83c\udff3\ufe0f\u200d\u26a7\ufe0f (they/them)) 1666557687
\u201clate one for the boris backers tonight\u201d— Ava-Santina (@Ava-Santina) 1666560476
\u201cBoris Johnson dropping out whilst claiming to have got 102 backers is Peak Partridge:\u201d— Supertanskiii (@Supertanskiii) 1666556223
\u201cSo instead of an old terrible Prime Minister we\u2019re going to have a new terrible Prime Minister! Sleep well everyone\u2026\u201d— Matt Green (@Matt Green) 1666556502
\u201cOh, Boris. I haven't seen a PR campaign fail so spectacularly since Lisa Scott-Lee agreed to retire if her new single didn't crack the top ten, only for it to debut at #13\u201d— SHANE REACTION (@SHANE REACTION) 1666557101
\u201c\ud83e\udd23\ud83e\udd23Maybe stay off Twitter for a few days, Nadhim\u2026\u201d— Piers Morgan (@Piers Morgan) 1666557399
Additional reporting by PA.
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