United Kingdom: Boris Johnson interrupts his vacation to announce his candidacy for head of government

Sylvie Claire / October 22, 2022

Former British Prime Minister Boris Johnson is interrupting his Caribbean vacation to reapply for the position of head of government. He made this known to James Duddridge MP.

I’m flying home, Dudders, we’re going to do this,” sent the former Prime Minister to Duddridge, informed the British media. “I’m ready,” announced the former British prime minister.

Just six weeks ago, Johnson resigned as prime minister in the wake of a series of scandals, and Liz Truss became head of government. On Thursday, she announced that she would step down as soon as her successor was known. The situation is expected to become clearer by the end of next week.

So far, only Penny Mordaunt, leader of the Conservative group in the House of Commons, has announced her candidacy. Former finance minister Rishi Sunak is also expected to announce his candidacy. Nominations must be submitted by Monday afternoon.

According to Duddridge, Johnson lands on Saturday. The MP says he has been in touch with “the boss” via WhatsApp.

“Boris is coming in and he has the momentum and support,” Still the Tory said. “He is the only election winner we have with a proven track record in London in terms of Brexit and getting the mandate we have now.” The former prime minister has also “learned and reflected” over the past six weeks. He knows now that his cabinet will have to be run more tightly and get a handle on the details, Duddridge said.

Johnson would have the support of 100 MPs, Duddridge recalls. Candidates must get at least 100 nominations (out of 357 MPs) from Conservative members of the House of Commons. This means that a series of potential candidates are out of the running and only three at most are left.

However, a return of Johnson is not obvious because, among other things, there is still an ongoing investigation into the lies about Partygate that he may have told in the House of Commons. If the parliamentary committee finds him guilty, he may lose his parliamentary seat and face re-election in his riding.