Johnson met Sunak after returning to London from a Caribbean holiday, aiming to launch an attempt to win a second term as Prime Minister
The Former Prime Minister of United Kingdom (U.K.) – Boris Johnson has held talks with his Former Chancellor to the Exchequer – Rishi Sunak, as U.K. gears up to choose the next Prime Minister following Liz Truss’s resignation.
Serving only 6 weeks in power, Truss became the shortest serving Prime Minister after she announced her intention to resign on October 20, 2022.
Johnson met Sunak after returning to London from a Caribbean holiday, reportedly aiming to launch an attempt to win a second term as Prime Minister, only weeks after he was forced to step down. Meanwhile Sunak has announced to contest for the Prime Minister candidate.
Promising to deliver on the 2019 manifesto which won the Tories 43.6% of the vote, Sunak says that under him there will be integrity, professionalism and accountability at every level of government.
Taking it to twitter, Sunak tweeted,
The United Kingdom is a great country but we face a profound economic crisis.
— Rishi Sunak (@RishiSunak) October 23, 2022
That’s why I am standing to be Leader of the Conservative Party and your next Prime Minister.
I want to fix our economy, unite our Party and deliver for our country. pic.twitter.com/BppG9CytAK
Any candidate who wants to be the Prime Minister of U.K. must receive at least 100 nominations from the party’s MPs by 2 p.m. local time Monday, i.e., October 24, 2022. If only one candidate meets that threshold, he/she will automatically become leader. Otherwise, the remaining candidates will be put to an online vote by Conservative Party members which will close on Friday, October 28, 2022. Sunak is currently74 ahead in the race, with the public backing of 128 legislators as compared with Johnson’s 53.
A runoff between the two men could prove divisive for the ruling Conservative Party. It was Sunak’s resignation from Johnson’s Government that led to the fall of Johnson. There are reports that they can strike some kind of deal.
However, Johnson’s return may not get huge support. The Former Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Secretary – Dominic Raab said that U.K. cannot go backwards and mentioned that Johnson faces a probe into the so-called partygate scandal into illegal gatherings in Downing Street.
Another contestant is the Leader of the House of Commons – Penny Mordaunt, who said that she regretted the so-called “mini budget” that led to economic turmoil in Britain and the resignation of Truss. The newly elected Prime Minister would be the 5th to lead the country since it voted for Brexit in 2016.
