Boris Johnson bows out of the Conservative Party leadership race

Messages sent between ministers have been lost or no longer exist

Cabinet Office given more time to hand over Covid WhatsApp messages Credit: STIs/Shutterstock.com

Boris Johnson has ruled himself out of the race to be the next leader of the Conservative Party.

The road to No10 Downing Street looks to be clear for Rishi Sunak this evening, Sunday, October 23, after Boris Johnson dramatically announced that he will not be running for the vacant job as leader of the Conservative Party.

Boris admitted that he couldn’t see a way of uniting the warring party. He revealed that he had failed in his attempt to reach out to Penny Mordaunt and Sunak – his two potential rivals – offering to work together for the good of the country’s best interests.

Earlier today, Mr Johnson released a statement in which he alleged to have secured the necessary 100 backers to enable him to run in the leadership race tomorrow, Monday 24. According to the BBC though, he was well short, allegedly with just 57 endorsements, compared to Sunak’s 147, and Penny Mordaunt’s 24.

As things stand, should Penny Mordaunt not reach 100 backers by tomorrow then Rishi Sunak will be the only candidate, and he will automatically become Prime Minister, as reported by dailymail.co.uk.

 Another statement released by Boris tonight, read: “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”.

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Written by

Chris King

Originally from Wales, Chris spent years on the Costa del Sol before moving to the Algarve where he is a web reporter for The Euro Weekly News covering international and Spanish national news. Got a news story you want to share? Then get in touch at editorial@euroweeklynews.com

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