Former British prime minister Boris Johnson confirmed Sunday he has pulled out of the race to lead the Conservative Party after being ousted from the job just over three months ago.
His withdrawal leaves former Treasury chief and chancellor of exchequer Rishi Sunak the strong favourite to become the nation’s third prime minister this year amid political turmoil and serious economic challenges.
Following Johnson pulling out of the running, Sunak could be announced as the next PM as early as Monday.
Johnson spent the week gaining support from his party after returning to the UK from a Caribbean holiday, while he also met with the other contenders Sunak and Penny Mordaunt.
Despite insisting he would have likely won a ballot of Conservative members against either of his rivals, he was reportedly far behind Sunak in support gained.
Johnson commented: “You can’t govern effectively unless you have a united party in Parliament.
“In the course of the last days I have sadly come to the conclusion that [running for PM] would simply not be the right thing to do.
“Therefore, I am afraid the best thing is that I do not allow my nomination to go forward and commit my support to whoever succeeds.”
He did hint at the idea of returning to 10 Downing Street as he believes he still has a lot to offer but said he thinks it “is simply not the right time”.
Liz Truss quit as PM last Thursday after just 45 days, conceding she could not deliver on her tax-cutting economic package, which plunged the UK’s financial markets into turmoil.