London October 24 2022: Boris Johnson has announced he will not stand for the Tory leadership.
He is saying that despite having the support of the MPs required to run, he had come to the conclusion “this would simply not be the right thing to do” as “you can’t govern effectively unless you have a united party in Parliament”.
He says he had the backing of 102 MPs.
He says he is “well placed” to deliver a victory in the 2024 general election.
In his statement outlining his reasons behind the decision, he writes: “Tonight I can confirm that I have cleared the very high hurdle of 102 nominations, including a proposer and a seconder, and I could put my nomination in tomorrow”.
The former PM adds: “There is a very good chance that I would be successful in the election with Conservative Party members – and that I could indeed be back in Downing Street on Friday.
“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.”
