The former finance minister threw his hat into the racetrack to succeed Britain’s prime minister. He’s not the only one interested.
“I want to be the next leader of the Conservative Party and your Prime Minister,” Rishi Sunak wrote on Twitter on Friday evening. He relinquished his position as Treasury Secretary on Tuesday in protest of Johnson’s leadership role, which led to a wave of resignations in the Conservative government faction. “Let us restore confidence, rebuild the economy and reunite the country,” Sunak continued in his message. He also posted a high quality video with his family history.
Sunak was once considered the most promising candidate to succeed Johnson. He has benefited above all from the popularity of the so-called evacuation programme, a measure modeled on German short-lived work, which has saved millions of people from losing their jobs during the pandemic. However, his reputation was severely damaged when it became clear that his extremely wealthy wife was taking advantage of a legal form of tax savings.
By Friday evening, in addition to Sunak, chief legal officer Suila Braverman and Tom Tugendhat, chair of Parliament’s Foreign Affairs Committee, announced their candidacies. More likely to come. Defense Minister Ben Wallace tops the opinion polls. But he wanted to consult his family first, he had heard that. Secretary of State Liz Truss and Secretary of Commerce Penny Mordaunt, among others, were expected to announce their candidacy.
Johnson needs a quick replacement
Johnson announced his resignation as leader of Britain’s Conservative Party on Thursday after massive pressure from his parliamentary group and Cabinet. However, he intends to remain in office until a successor is elected. The exact course of the selection process will be decided by the responsible party committee, called the 1922 Committee, at the beginning of next week.
You have to get rid of Boris Johnson, and if not, we will go ahead with a vote of no confidence in Parliament.
However, there were calls for his swift replacement. Conservative MP and Johnson critic Caroline Knox told the BBC on Friday that replacing Johnson should take weeks, not months. “It has lost confidence in the Conservative Party due to a lack of personal integrity,” said the chairwoman of the Women and Equality Committee. Even the deputy leader of the opposition Labor Party, Angela Rayner, called for Johnson’s immediate replacement. “He’s a proven liar, and he’s overwhelmed with the feeling we can’t stand a few more months of this,” Reiner said. And she added: “You have to get rid of him, and if this is not the case, we will withhold confidence from Parliament.” Johnson has clearly lost the public’s trust.
Johnson is unlikely to be ousted from office by a vote of no-confidence in Parliament. Therefore, part of his group will have to vote against him. There may then be a new election, which Johnson’s Conservatives should not care about at the moment.
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