Former UK PM Boris Johnson reportedly pulls out of leadership race to replace Liz Truss
Despite being ousted from office just three months ago, some Conservative MPs had backed Johnson for the top job, and he reportedly told allies over the last couple of days that he would formally join the contest.
But in a statement late Sunday, Johnson said it was "simply not the right time." He added he had "cleared the very high hurdle of 102 nominations" to take part in the latter stages of the contest. Around 60 lawmakers had publicly backed the ex-PM but there had been question marks over exactly how many nominations he had received.
Johnson mentioned his two rivals in his statement, Rishi Sunak and Penny Mordaunt, who have both officially entered the contest. "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," Johnson said.Former Finance Minister Sunak is now the red hot favorite to be the next British leader with around 140 nominations so far.
On Saturday, Johnson flew back from a vacation in the Caribbean amid a media frenzy he would throw his hat into into the ring. Johnson is believed to still be popular in the grassroots of the wider Conservative Party despite many Tory MPs being firmly against a return.If you want to be a successful UK prime minister, now may not be the best time, professor says
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