Boris Johnson battling to win support for fresh prime minister bid

Boris Johnson was fighting to get enough support to turn into Britain’s next prime minister on Sunday after outstanding figures on the right-wing of the Conservative Party coalesced across the man once accused of betraying him, Rishi Sunak.

Leading figures who previously backed Johnson, got here out in support for former finance minister Sunak ahead of a primary vote by Conservative lawmakers on Monday.

Junior minister Steve Baker said on Sunday he would vote for Sunak since the country couldn’t afford a return to the soap-opera that built up earlier this yr before Johnson was forced out of office over a string of scandals.

Johnson is currently under investigation by parliament’s Privileges Committee to ascertain whether he lied to the House of Commons over parties held at Downing Street in the course of the Covid-19 pandemic. Ministers found to have knowingly misled parliament are expected to resign.

“This is not the time for Boris’s style,” Baker told Sky News. “I’m afraid the difficulty is due to privileges vote, Boris could be a guaranteed disaster.”

Sunak, Johnson and Penny Mordaunt are attempting to get the support of 100 lawmakers in order that they can enter a ballot on Monday to turn into the following prime minister and replace Liz Truss who was forced out after just six weeks in office.

Johnson was forced out of office in July when Sunak quit, triggering a wider rebel that prompted Johnson’s ministers to resign en masse.

Baker said the country now needed a period of stability after Truss sparked turmoil in finance markets, and that meant not voting for Johnson again.

“What we won’t do is have him in as prime minister in circumstances where he’s certain to implode, taking down the entire government with him,” he said.

Mordaunt-backer Damian Green dismissed reports that she was struggling to satisfy the edge, telling Sky News that she wouldn’t pull out.