Mr Johnson said there was a “very good chance” he would have been successful, and “back in Downing Street on Friday”.
Mr Johnson said he had been attracted by the race 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. I believe I have much to offer but I am afraid that this is simply not the right time.”
What a pompous ass …
And though I have reached out to both Rishi (Sunak) and Penny (Mordaunt) - 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.
Is that because they regard BJ as more of a liability than an asset …
Good riddance (again) BJ …
Meanwhile:
Currently 180 out of 357 Tory MPs have gone public with their support for candidates who have said they are running:
Rishi Sunak - 155 MPs
Penny Mordaunt - 25 MPs
A further 54 MPs had publicly declared their support for Boris Johnson, who has pulled out of the race. That leaves 123 undeclared.
Cabinet minister Nadhim Zahawi has said he is now backing Rishi Sunak in the Tory leadership race, after only publicly announcing support for Boris Johnson this morning.
Moments before Johnson made his announcement, an article was published in the Telegraph written by Zahawi titled: “Get ready for Boris 2.0, the man who will make the Tories and Britain great again.”
However, the article is no longer available and link the to the web address reads: “404 – Sorry, page not found.”
The speed of modern politics - here today, gone today …
I don’t believe for one minute Johnson had 100 backers Lies and more lies!
My theory is that he wouldn’t have come flying back from his hols if he hadn’t wanted to be PM.
Then when he got here and couldn’t get enough support, rather than face the humiliation of not getting chosen, he covers it up by claiming to be generously doing the “noble” thing and withdrawing for the good of the party and the country
What a load of bull. And typical of Johnson to let those 60 public supporters stick their head over the parapet for him, then withdraw to save his own face and abandon them to take the consequences
When will people learn he simply can’t be trusted so not to put any faith in him?
What I find most disturbing is Johnson was able to secure 60 public declarations of support.
I don’t believe for a minute his comment on amassing over 100 backers.
Yes I find it shocking 60 MPs would put a disgraced Johnson back in number 10 ! , a proven liar who lost several previous careers due his lying. A greedy man who has made a mockery a laughing stock out of the office of Prime Minister.
Surely another reason never to vote conservative again.
14:00: Nominations close. Candidates need the support of at least 100 Tory MPs to progress to the next stage. If only one candidate gets 100 nominations they will become the next Tory leader and prime minister
15:30 - 17:30: If two candidates remain, Tory MPs vote to indicate their preference
18:00: The result of the indicative vote will be announced. If two candidates remain and no-one withdraws, Tory party members will make the final decision in an online vote, with the winner declared by Friday
Let’s hope that any indicative vote leads to a withdrawal - we don’t want the members making a “final decision” …
Johnson is a liar and a cheat, it is in the very core of the man,
he has lived his entire putting no one but himself first. His
current wife will realise that too, in the long run. For such
a character to lead a nation is unthinkable.
There is “absolutely no chance” Penny Mordaunt will be stepping down from the race, Andrea Leadsom says. Leadsom ran for the Tory leadership against Theresa May in 2016 and pulled out before it went to a vote among Tory members.
She says Mordaunt’s campaign is “supremely confident” this morning and there is a “lot of support for Penny from colleagues”.
Leadsom must come from the same planet as Mogg - dɪˈluːʒ(ə)n …
Reaching 50% support among Tory MPs is symbolically important for Rishi Sunak. He can now say he has the backing of his party in parliament. If this goes to members, that could be an important factor.
There has been a flood of extra support for Sunak this morning. He has considerable momentum in parliament.
Currently 211 out of 357 Tory MPs have gone public with their support for one of the candidates in the leadership race:
I just hope Penny Mordaunt does not receive 100 nominations or that she decides to drop out before the vote goes to party members.
I have nothing against her in particular but if former rivals of Sunak have switched to supporting him, it’s clear that many of their colleagues do not think Mordaunt has enough experience for the job, in the current situation we are in.
She didn’t have enough support from the MPs in the first leadership contest and it was clear that Sunak had the most support from the Tory MPs in every round of that first leadership contest - but the Tory Party Members decided to ignore the majority choice of the all those MPs, who are the elected representatives of the people, and they voted for Truss - and look how that turned out.
I wouldn’t trust the Party Members with the final choice the second time round.
Lies and more lies!
