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 Johnson, who returned from a Caribbean vacation earlier in the day aimed at launching an audacious political comeback just weeks after leaving office, met with former finance minister Sunak to discuss the race.
The two have yet to announce that they will run to replace outgoing leader Liz Truss, who announced on Thursday that she would stand down Only 44 stormy days in his tenure.
After a spectacular fall following Mr 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 Mr Johnson’s ouster.
Few details have emerged about what the Sun called a “secret peak” and Sunday Times It was going on around 10:00. Sunday Telegraph Reportedly they were ready to discuss “agreed on a joint ticket” to avoid a Tory “civil war”.
that unimaginable scenario comes as Mr. Sunak ahead in counting of nominations for Conservative MPs To become the next leader, the 42-year-old will easily achieve the 100 minimum threshold set by the party for the UK’s top job.
He has the public support of 128 Tory MPs, compared with 53 for Mr Johnson and 23 for cabinet member Penny Mordant, who was the first to formally declare on Friday.
Mr Johnson downplayed a luxury stay in the Dominican Republic to engage in a three-way conflict, with aides saying he was “ready for it”.
The divisive 58-year-old Brexit architect only left power in early September, two months after announcing his resignation following a government revolt over several scandals.
‘Uncertainty in policy making’
The Tories are now forced into a second, this time intensifying, leadership contest since the summer Ms Truss resigned her disastrous tax-exempt 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.
Mr Johnson’s apparent bid to reclaim power has already led opposition politicians and even some in his own fractured ruling party to demand stability and unity.
David Frost, a former right-wing Loyalist minister appointed to the House of Lords by Mr Johnson, 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 Sunak.
Meanwhile, in a major coup for Mr Sunak, an influential right wing, trade minister Kemi Badenoch said in a Sunday Times The article states that “he will be a great leader in times of crisis”.
hogwash
In an accelerated contest, 357 Conservative MPs will vote on any candidate with 100 nominations on Monday, before potential online ballots from party members are reduced to two later in the week.
Tory MP James Dudridge, a key Johnson aide who confirmed on Friday that the former leader was intent on taking a 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 Interior Minister Priti Patel on Saturday.
Meanwhile, posting a photo of Mr 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.