2 yıl önce

Rishi Sunak leads in race to replace Truss, Johnson yet to declare

The former UK Treasury chief confirmed he was running in the leadership race and currently has the backing of at least 124 Conservative lawmakers, according to unofficial tallies.

AP

Sunak quit Johnson's government in July, helping trigger a rebellion that bought him down.

Former British Treasury chief Rishi Sunak was frontrunner in the Conservative Party's race to replace Liz Truss as prime minister, as he garnered the public support of over 100 Tory lawmakers.

In unofficial tallies on Sunday, Sunak appears to have gathered more support from Conservative lawmakers than his two main rivals: former Prime Minister Boris Johnson and ex-Cabinet minister Penny Mordaunt.

“There will be integrity, professionalism and accountability at every level of the government I lead and I will work day in and day out to get the job done," Sunak said in a statement.

Sunak has the backing of at least 124 Conservative lawmakers, according to unofficial tallies by local media. That is well ahead of the 100 nominations required to qualify.

Mordaunt garnered about 24 lawmakers' public support, while Johnson, who has not declared if he is running, has about 50 so far. Lawmaker Jacob Rees-Mogg told the BBC on Sunday he spoke to Johnson and “clearly he's going to stand."

Dozens among Britain's 357 Conservative lawmakers have not yet publicly declared whom they are backing to replace Truss.

Return of Johnson

The Conservative Party has ordered a contest that aims to finalise nominations on Monday and install a new prime minister — its third this year — within a week.

But widespread uncertainty remained after British media reported that Sunak had held late-night talks with Johnson on Saturday, and speculation mounted that the pair could strike a deal to unite the fractured governing party after it was left reeling from Truss' rapid downfall.

The return of Johnson, 58, who was forced out of office just weeks ago by a string of ethics scandals, has divided the Conservatives and thrown unpredictability into the race.

Supporters say he is a vote winner and has enough support from lawmakers, but many critics warn that another Johnson government would be catastrophic for the party and the country.

Northern Ireland minister Steve Baker, a former backer of Johnson and an influential politician within the Conservative Party, warned a Johnson comeback would be a “guaranteed disaster” because he still faces an investigation into whether he lied to Parliament while in office that could lead to his suspension as a lawmaker.

“This isn’t the time for Boris and his style,” Baker told Sky News on Sunday. “What we can’t do is have him as prime minister in circumstances where he’s bound to implode, taking down the whole government within and we just can’t do that again.”

Truss quit Thursday after a turbulent 45 days, conceding that she could not deliver on her tax-cutting economic package, which she was forced to abandon after it sparked fury within her party and weeks of turmoil in financial markets.