Conservative rivals Boris Johnson and Rishi Sunak held one-on-one talks on Saturday. (file)
London:
Conservative rivals Boris Johnson and Rishi Sunak held one-on-one talks late Saturday, reports said, as the feuding pair that once headed Britain’s government prepare to battle for the leadership of their fractured ruling party.
The BBC and others reported that former Prime Minister Mr Johnson, who had just returned from a Caribbean vacation earlier in the day aimed at launching an audacious political comeback just weeks after leaving office, called on former finance minister Rishi Sunak to discuss the race. meet.
Sunak’s July resignation, it is believed to be his first personal discussion in months, helping to trigger a government revolt that eventually led to the ouster of Boris Johnson.
Few details have emerged about what The Sun dubbed a “secret summit”, and the Sunday Times said it was underway around 10:00 pm (2100 GMT). The Sunday Telegraph reported that they were ready to discuss “agreed on a joint ticket” to avoid a Tory “civil war”.
This unimaginable scenario comes as Rishi Sunak advances in the Conservative MP nomination count as the next leader, with the 42-year-old easily achieving the 100 minimum threshold set by the party for the UK’s top job.
He has the public support of 128 Tory lawmakers, compared with 53 for Johnson and 23 for cabinet member Penny Mordant, who was the first to formally declare Friday.
Mr Johnson cut short a luxury stay in the Dominican Republic to engage in a three-way feud, with aides saying he was “ready for it”.
The divisive 58-year-old Brexit architect stepped down in early September, two months after announcing his resignation following a government revolt over several scandals.
‘unexpectedness’
The Tories have now been forced a second, this time after intensifying, leadership competition since the summer after Liz Truss resigned her disastrous tax-slashing mini-budget following economic and political turmoil.
In a sign of the toll from the tally, ratings agency Moody’s said on Friday it had downgraded the UK outlook, blaming “increased unpredictability in policy making”.
Meanwhile, the pound – which hit a record low against the dollar in the immediate aftermath of the mini-budget, but has since stalled – slipped.
Boris Johnson’s apparent bid to reclaim power has already been denounced by opposition politicians and even some in his own fractured ruling party who are demanding stability and unity.
David Frost, a former right-wing Loyalist minister appointed by Johnson to the House of Lords, said “the risk of repeating last year’s chaos (and) confusion is not right.”
“We must move on,” he urged the Tories, adding that they “must go after an able leader who can deliver a conservative program” whom he identified as former finance minister Rishi Sunak.
Dominic Raab – Mr Johnson’s deputy prime minister – echoed the comments, telling Sky News that an impending parliamentary inquiry into the “Partygate” scandal that scared his former boss could prove too distracting .
Veteran backbencher Roger Gale has also warned that Johnson could face a wave of resignations from lawmakers who refuse to serve under him again.
Meanwhile, in a major coup for Rishi Sunak, an influential right-wing trade minister, Chemi Badenoch, said in a Sunday Times article that “he would be a great leader in times of crisis”.
hogwash
In the quick contest, the Conservative’s 357 MPs will vote on any candidate with 100 nominations on Monday, before a possible online vote of party members remains two later in the week.
Tory MP James Dudridge, a key Boris Johnson aide who confirmed on Friday that the former leader was intent on taking the stand, said on Saturday he had now secured the support of 100 aides.
But the claim was met with skepticism by other conservatives, with one MP telling the BBC it was “hogwash”.
Mr Johnson is still backed by several Tory heavyweights, including former Home Minister Priti Patel on Saturday.
Meanwhile, posting a photo of Boris Johnson on the phone to his Facebook, Backbench Conservative MP Lee Anderson revealed he was backing him after “a long conversation about everything past and present”.
“My inbox is full of BBB (bring Boris back),” he said, referring to an acronym and hashtag used by his supporters.
Although he is popular with party members who can decide the contest, polling shows that he is widely disliked by voters, with 52 percent opposing his return.
Another poll also found that three in five voters now want an early general election, in line with opposition parties’ demands, as Britons grapple with worsening cost of living.
(Except for the title, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)