Sunak is the favourite to be Prime Minister of the UK now that Johnson has given up on a comeback.
Boris Johnson dropped out of the race on Sunday, saying that even though he had enough support to make it to the final ballot, the country and the Conservative Party needed unity. This made it look like Rishi Sunak would be the next prime minister of Britain.
Johnson rushed back from a vacation in the Caribbean to try to get the support of 100 lawmakers so he could run on Monday to replace Liz Truss, who took over for him after he was forced to resign in September because of a series of scandals.
He said that 102 lawmakers had backed him and that he could have been “back in Downing Street,” but he couldn’t get Sunak or the other candidate, Penny Mordaunt, to work together “in the national interest.”
Related: Japan’s prime minister vows to lower power rates and use the weak yen.
Johnson said late on Sunday, “I think I have a lot to offer, but I’m afraid now is just not the right time.”
By Sunday, just under 60 Conservative lawmakers had publicly backed the former prime minister. This was less than half of the nearly 150 people who had backed Sunak.
In early Asian trading, the pound rose more than half a cent against the dollar.
Sunak, a 42-year-old former finance minister and Johnson’s biggest rival, could become prime minister as soon as Monday, thanks to Johnson’s statement. If he is confirmed, he will replace Truss, who had to step down because she started an economic plan that caused chaos in the financial markets.
If only one candidate gets the support of 100 Conservative lawmakers, that person will be named prime minister on Monday.
If two candidates pass the threshold, the party members will vote on who should be the next leader. The winner will be announced on Friday, just a few days before the new finance minister, Jeremy Hunt, releases a budget plan on October 31.
That made people worry that Johnson would go back to Downing Street with only the support of party members and not the support of the majority of lawmakers in parliament. This would leave the party very divided. Late on Sunday, Hunt said that he would vote for Sunak.
Some of Johnson’s supporters could switch to Mordaunt, who has been running as the candidate for unity, but many of them switched to Sunak right away. A person close to the Mordaunt campaign said that the former minister of defence would keep running.
“She is the candidate who can bring together the different parts of the Conservative Party,” a source said.
Torn Itself Apart.
Since he became mayor of London in 2008 and then the face of the Brexit vote in 2016, Johnson has been a big deal in British politics. In 2019, he led the Conservative Party to a huge victory, but three years later, his ministers rose up against him and forced him out.
Sunak said that he hoped Johnson would keep making a difference “at home and abroad.”
One Sunak supporter who didn’t want to be named said he was mostly relieved because if Johnson had won, “the party would have torn itself apart.”
Lucy Allan, a Conservative lawmaker, said on Twitter, “I voted for Boris for prime minister, but I think he did the right thing for the country.”
Other people who had supported Johnson jumped ship right away.
“A day is a long time in politics,” said Cabinet Office Minister Nadhim Zahawi, who had just praised Johnson in an article on the Daily Telegraph website.
He said, “Rishi is very smart and will get a lot of support from the Conservative Party in parliament. He will also have my full support and loyalty.
Earlier, many conservative lawmakers, who usually back Johnson, switched their support to Sunak. They said the country needed a period of stability after months of unrest that made headlines and worried people all over the world.
Related: The salary of the current Prime Minister, Boris Johnson, in pounds, in 2022
The privileges committee is also still looking at Johnson to see if he lied to parliament about parties at Downing Street during the COVID-19 lockdowns. If found guilty, he could be forced to quit or be taken out of office.
Sunak first came to the attention of the whole country when, at age 39, he became Johnson’s finance minister just as the COVID-19 pandemic hit Britain. He came up with a plan called “furloughs” to help millions of people get through the multiple lockdowns.
Sunak said in a statement on Sunday, “As your chancellor, I helped steer our economy through the worst times.” “Now, the problems we face are even worse. But the chances are incredible if we make the right choice. ”
If chosen, Sunak would be the first person from India to be prime minister of the UK.
His family moved to Britain in the 1960s, when many people from Britain’s former colonies moved there to help rebuild the country after the Second World War.
After he graduated from Oxford University, he went to Stanford University, where he met his wife, Akshata Murthy. Her father is the Indian billionaire N. R. Narayana Murthy, who started the outsourcing company Infosys (NYSE:INFY) Ltd.
