Boris Johnson pulls out of Conservative leadership race

London, Oct 24: Boris Johnson announced late on Sunday that he would not be standing for the leadership of the Conservative Party, and by extension another stint as British prime minister, domestic media unanimously reported, sharing his written statement to supporters.

Johnson said that he had been "overwhelmed by the number of people who suggested that I should once again contest the Conservative Party leadership" in the last few days, following Liz Truss' resignation after just a few weeks in office.

He said he believed he was "uniquely placed to avert a general election now," and that he had cleared the "very high hurdle of 102 nominations, including a proposer and a seconder" required to qualify for the contest.

"But in the course of the last 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," Johnson said.

Full statement from @BorisJohnson: pic.twitter.com/PNvMOJ1dYN

— Sebastian Payne (@SebastianEPayne) October 23, 2022

He said he would therefore not allow his nomination to go forward and said he would commit his support to "whoever succeeds," suggesting he did not intend to endorse anybody else.

He appeared to leave the door open for some later return, concluding the message to supporters: "I believe that I have much to offer but I am afraid that this is simply not the right time."

Source: DW