‘Believe this is Not the Right Time’: Why Did Boris Johnson Bow Out Despite Claiming Support of 102 MPs?

UK former prime minister Boris Johnson pulled out of the UK prime minister and the Conservative Party leadership race on Sunday.

He held talks with frontrunners Rishi Sunak and Penny Mordaunt late on Saturday and also expressed his desire to run but pulled out saying that ‘this would simply not be the right thing to do.’

“In the course of the last few days I have sadly come to the conclusion that this would simply not be the right thing to do. You can’t govern effectively unless you have a united party in parliament,” Boris said in his statement.

This excerpt from the statement also follows up with another para which says:

“Though I have reached out to both Rishi (Sunak) and Penny (Mordaunt) – 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. Therefore I am afraid the best thing is that I do not allow my nomination to go forward and commit my support to whoever succeeds.”

This goes on to show that neither Rishi Sunak nor Penny Mordaunt was wooed by Boris Johnson who has even faced threats of resignation from Tory members who feel he is unfit for the top job.

Boris Johnson’s calls to ‘unite the party’ were not as sincere as Johnson claimed them to be since it was the Partygate scandal which played a role in dividing the Tories into pro and anti Boris lobbies.

They and along with several other MPs believe that even if Rishi Sunak or Penny Mordaunt lack the ability to unite the party, Boris Johnson still would not be the right person to lead.

Peter Walker, the political correspondent for the Guardian, in an analysis report pointed out that possibilities of a humiliating defeat and the understanding that the chances of victory are slim may have forced Boris Johnson to announce his withdrawal.

Walker in his piece in the Guardian also points out that Johnson earlier in 2016 also bowed out of the PM race since he felt he may not have the support of the MPs.

This time it is no different. It may be likely that he may have won this race too, if it were up to the 150,000-plus Tory members but the analysis in the Guardian pointed out that there was skepticism about the claim that Boris had the support of more than 100 MPs since only 57 MPs had publicly declared their support for him.

In 2016, Boris Johnson backed out of a leadership and UK PM race after his once close ally Michael Gove announced that he would run for the posts following the Brexit vote.

Johnson at the time openly admitted, unlike this time, that he did not have enough support from his party.

This time, Johnson said: “I believe I am well placed to deliver a Conservative victory in 2024 – and tonight I can confirm that I have cleared the very high hurdle of 102 nominations, including a proposer and a seconder, and I could put my nomination in tomorrow.”

He further added: “There is a very good chance that I would be successful in the election with Conservative Party members – and that I could indeed be back in Downing Street on Friday.”

However, these claims were seen by many as dubious because three months ago at least 50 members of his own party resigned from his cabinet and ministerial positions citing he was not the right man for the job.

Walker also points out that Johnson was ambitious hence he quickly returned from his vacation and took steps to mount a leadership challenge as Liz Truss – backed by him – resigned from the post of UK prime minister and Conservative Party chief.

Boris’ letter also shows that he does not rule out a comeback. He says: “I believe I have much to offer but I am afraid that this is simply not the right time.”

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