UK election: Boris' chances rise, sage ahead

International Desk: Boris Johnson's chances of winning the race to become the Prime Minister of the United Kingdom are increasing. However, at the moment, Rishi Sunak, the former finance minister of Indian origin, is leading the way with the support of Conservative MPs. Former Defense Minister Penny Mordant is also in the running.

Mordant is the first to officially announce his interest in succeeding Liz Truss. The 49-year-old leader has worked under four British Prime Ministers so far. He also managed to distance himself from the scandals of the Johnson administration.

On Friday (October 21), Mordant announced his second bid for the leadership of the Conservative Party. A few months ago, he dropped out of the race as the support of party MPs fell. Liz Truss and Rishi Sunak competed in that election.

According to news agency Reuters, although Mordant made the first official announcement, the main competition for the leadership this time could be between Boris and his former government minister Rishi. In other words, the former defense minister may have to leave from the third position.

With the Conservatives currently holding a large majority in the British Parliament, they have the power to reject calls for an early election. However, public opinion polls say that if the elections were held at this moment, the ruling party would be completely overwhelmed. In this situation, the Conservative Party is hoping that their fortunes may be restored by the hand of the new leader.

The next leader of the Conservative Party will be the new Prime Minister of the United Kingdom. With this, five people are going to sit in the chair of the country's head of government in the last six years.

British Prime Minister Liz Truss announced her resignation last Thursday (October 20) due to the controversy over the economic plan. His successor will be announced later this week. But under the new rules, the Conservative Party leader must have the support of at least 100 party MPs to contest. And it must be collected by next Monday (October 24).

The political editor of the British newspaper The Guardian said on Twitter that 42-year-old Rishi Sunak has already gathered the necessary support as the first leader.

Boris Johnson has yet to officially announce his candidacy. However, five central ministers of the British government have expressed their support for Johnson.

According to a Reuters poll, 70 MPs are in favor of Rishi Sunak, 37 are in favor of Boris Johnson and 20 are in favor of Mordant.

It would be huge for Boris Johnson to return to power after being forced to resign amid scandal. But a YouGov poll says 52 percent of Britons would be unhappy if he becomes prime minister. The survey was conducted on the basis of the opinion of about three and a half thousand adults.

Conservative MP James Duddridge said Boris Johnson had told him he was 'up for it' and the former prime minister would cancel a Caribbean island holiday and return to the UK on Saturday.

 

Comments (0)