#Britains #Johnson #staying #approving #successor
Eleven hopefuls were in the running on Monday to become the next Conservative Party leader and British Prime Minister, but Boris Johnson refused to endorse a candidate vying to succeed him.
The contest was sparked last week when Johnson, 58, was forced to resign against his scandal-hit leadership after a frenzy of more than 60 resignations from his government.
An influential committee of non-ministerial Tory MPs in Parliament is due to draft a timetable for the elections from around 1800 GMT on Monday.
But with demands for Johnson to leave Downing Street as soon as possible – and to avoid dragging the trial into MPs’ summer holidays – the numbers are likely to be quickly reduced to just two.
The 1922 Committee’s joint executive secretary, Bob Blackman, said they were committed to doing so before Parliament’s July 21 summer recess.
“That means we will be doing a number of votes over the next few days to get that position,” he told Sky News.
Among the candidates are Rishi Sunak and Sajid Javid, whose departures as finance and health ministers sparked the wave of resignations.
Foreign Secretary Liz Truss and Sunak’s successor Nadhim Zahawi have also made statements, and Home Secretary Priti Patel is reportedly considering an offer.
Brexit figurehead Johnson dramatically announced his resignation as party leader last Thursday but will remain at Downing Street until a replacement is found.
Javid said with the UK’s deepening cost-of-living crisis, rising energy prices and the war in Ukraine, there was a need more than ever for “skills” in the country’s leadership.
“I have great hope that this campaign can and will be the tipping point that we need,” he said at a campaign launch.
“People want to see who is ready to face these crises and the next election campaign,” he added.
– disgraced –
The focus of the “1922 Committee” decision is likely to be how many MPs must support a candidate in order for him to take part in the race.
Blackman said any potential candidate might need the support of 18 or more MPs.
During a visit to a science research institute in London, Johnson was asked directly if he would support any of the candidates, six of whom are of black or ethnic background.
“The prime minister’s job at this stage is to let the party decide, let them go ahead and carry on with the projects we were elected to do,” he said.
Johnson’s fall from grace was spectacular. In December 2019 he won a landslide victory by 80 seats for a pledge to take Britain out of the European Union.
His parliamentary majority allowed him to do just that, but his tenure as Prime Minister was hit by waves of scandals, not least over lockdown-breaking parties at Downing Street, where he was fined by police.
Another row erupted last week over his appointment of a senior colleague despite being aware of sexual assault allegations against him, prompting the government’s resignation.
In his speech, he accused the “herd” of plotting against him, and his allies have spoken out furiously against former Chancellor of the Exchequer Rishi Sunak.
But Johnson refused to say on Monday if he felt cheated.
“I don’t want to say more about all of this,” he said.
“There’s a competition going on and that’s what happened and you know I don’t want to destroy any opportunities by offering my support.
“I just have to move on and in the last few days or weeks… the prime minister’s constitutional role in this situation is to continue to exercise the mandate. And I do,” he added.
“The more we focus on the people voting for us … (and) the less we talk about politics in Westminster, the happier we’ll all be in general.”
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