Former London Mayor, Boris Johnson, who had been considered one of the favourites to replace David Cameron as Prime Minister, declared on Thursday that he would not be standing for the post when Cameron eventually stepped down.
Johnson revealed that he consulted colleagues from the party and “in view of the circumstances in parliament,” he decided that he could not be the next Conservative leader after Cameron departure.
Cameron, who was in charge of the Remain campaign, announced his resignation after Britain voted 52-48 percent to leave the EU, triggering a leadership contest within the ruling Conservative Party that will elect his successor by early September.
Johnson’s decision means that five Conservative MPs will compete to replace Cameron, they include three Cabinet ministers: British Justice Secretary Michael Gove, Home Secretary Theresa May and Work and Pensions Secretary Stephen Crabb.
CNN reported that, former defense secretary Liam Fox and Energy Minister Andrea Leadsom are also running.
Theresa May Throws in the Hat
Taking advantage of the opportunity, Britain’s interior minister Theresa May put her name forward on Thursday to be in contention for the post.
She has promised to deal with divisions in the country that drove more than 17 million Britons to vote to leave the European Union.
May fixed her cross-hairs on Boris and had made a thinly-veiled attack on his privileged background and pointedly said that government was not “a game.”
But despite Johnson pulling out, the race for Britain’s top job is anything but over. British Justice Secretary Michael Gove made a surprise announcement by putting his name forward for the Prime Minister’s job.
He has also revealed that he will be in the running for leader of the Conservative Party.
Gove was earlier expected to support former London mayor Boris Johnson in his campaign.
I wanted to help build a team behind Boris Johnson so that a politician who argued for leaving the European Union could lead us to a better future. But I have come, reluctantly, to the conclusion that Boris cannot provide the leadership or build the team for the task ahead.Michael Gove, British Justice Secretary
(With inputs from Reuters)
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