Johnson
Boris Johnson rules himself out of the race to replace Liz Truss, saying he has enough support but he has decided it is not the right thing to do. He announced he would not be standing in the leadership race at around 9pm this evening, Sunday.
The former PM claims he “cleared the high hurdle” of nominations with 102 backers, although only 57 MPs have done so publicly. He says he believes he would have been “well placed” to deliver a victory in the 2024 general election but “this is not the right time”
Earlier former Chancellor Rishi Sunak confirmed he was standing to be the next Conservative leader and UK prime minister, saying he wanted to “fix our economy.” Sunak has already cleared the threshold of 100 MPs, but a source in his campaign tells the BBC he is not “taking anything for granted.”
Penny Mordaunt, who entered the race on Friday but has just 24 declarations of support, told Sunday with Laura Kuenssberg she regrets Liz Truss’s mini-budget and would keep Jeremy Hunt as chancellor. The numbers will change over coming hours as MPs switch allegiance.
Labour leader Sir Keir Starmer reiterates his call for a general election, adding “any incoming government will have to pick up the mess” BBC report
