{UAH} Boris Johnson rules himself out of Conservative leader race
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11:17 AM |
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Boris Johnson rules himself out of Conservative leader race
- 3 hours ago
- UK Politics
Ex-London mayor Boris Johnson has ruled himself out of the race to be the next Conservative leader and prime minister.
In a speech in London - billed as his campaign launch - Mr Johnson said he did not believe he could provide the leadership or unity needed.
It comes after Justice Secretary and fellow Brexit campaigner Michael Gove's surprise announcement on Thursday morning that he would run for leader.
Home Secretary Theresa May is among the candidates. Nominations closed at noon.
Theresa May: 'You can judge me by my record'Also in the running are Energy minister Andrea Leadsom and former Defence Secretary Liam Fox - who campaigned to leave the EU - and Work and Pensions Secretary Stephen Crabb, who backed Remain.
The contest was sparked after David Cameron announced he would resign following the EU referendum result, which saw the UK vote by 52% to 48% to leave the EU.
Mr Johnson's unexpected - and dramatic - announcement that he would not stand for Tory leader or prime minister, positions he is long thought to have harboured ambitions for, has dramatically altered the race.
Analysis
AFP/GETTY IMAGESBy Ben Wright, BBC political correspondent
"Shakespearian" is the word being mumbled by dazed politicians and pundits at Westminster.
The ambitions, rivalries and duplicitous double-dealing unleashed before the Tory leadership contest even got underway has left onlookers groping for fictional comparisons.
It's Richard III meets Scarface, with a bit of Godfather thrown in.
Remember this: David Cameron, Boris Johnson, Michael Gove and George Osborne grew up together - personally and politically. Their families were close. But the EU referendum ripped through old loyalties.
First Michael Gove backed the Leave campaign, knowing the damage it could do to Cameron and Osborne. The chancellor and Gove kept their friendship intact despite the strain of the campaign.
But it was Boris Johnson's decision to lead the Leave campaign and put his own ambitions to be prime minister ahead of loyalty to David Cameron that severed his relationship with the now departing PM, destroyed by Leave's victory.
Boris Johnson believed the crown would be his and naively believed Michael Gove's promises of support. But now Mr Gove, despite polite protestations he never coveted the top job, has ruthlessly dispatched his friend.
What has been going on behind the scenes? The truth will only emerge in memoirs.
But my sense is Mr Gove and his team of advisors clearly did not believe Boris Johnson had the spine to fully divorce Britain from the EU. Nor did a number of Tory Mps trust Mr Johnson to deliver the promises he was making in terms of personnel and jobs.
When Mr Gove made his move, hardened Brexit believers instantly went with him, sinking Boris Johnson.
The irony of course is that Boris Johnson, who did so much to take Britain out of the EU, has seen his own ambitious crushed in the aftermath.
It could be that the big winner from this vicious Tory drama is the woman in charge of law and order - Theresa May.
Addressing reporters in a new conference just moments before the deadline for nominations passed, Mr Johnson said the next Conservative leader would have to unify his party and ensure that Britain stood tall in the world.
"Having consulted colleagues and in view of the circumstances in Parliament, I have concluded that person cannot be me," he said.
BBC assistant political editor Norman Smith said it was an "astonishing turn of events".
Who's in the running?
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