UK's Sunak qualifies for PM race as Johnson eyes comeback | The Business Standard
Skip to main content
  • Latest
  • Economy
    • Banking
    • Stocks
    • Industry
    • Analysis
    • Bazaar
    • RMG
    • Corporates
    • Aviation
  • Videos
    • TBS Today
    • TBS Stories
    • TBS World
    • News of the day
    • TBS Programs
    • Podcast
    • Editor's Pick
  • World+Biz
  • Features
    • Panorama
    • The Big Picture
    • Pursuit
    • Habitat
    • Thoughts
    • Splash
    • Mode
    • Tech
    • Explorer
    • Brands
    • In Focus
    • Book Review
    • Earth
    • Food
    • Luxury
    • Wheels
  • More
    • Sports
    • TBS Graduates
    • Bangladesh
    • Supplement
    • Infograph
    • Archive
    • Gallery
    • Long Read
    • Interviews
    • Offbeat
    • Magazine
    • Climate Change
    • Health
    • Cartoons
  • বাংলা
The Business Standard

Saturday
June 07, 2025

Sign In
Subscribe
  • Latest
  • Economy
    • Banking
    • Stocks
    • Industry
    • Analysis
    • Bazaar
    • RMG
    • Corporates
    • Aviation
  • Videos
    • TBS Today
    • TBS Stories
    • TBS World
    • News of the day
    • TBS Programs
    • Podcast
    • Editor's Pick
  • World+Biz
  • Features
    • Panorama
    • The Big Picture
    • Pursuit
    • Habitat
    • Thoughts
    • Splash
    • Mode
    • Tech
    • Explorer
    • Brands
    • In Focus
    • Book Review
    • Earth
    • Food
    • Luxury
    • Wheels
  • More
    • Sports
    • TBS Graduates
    • Bangladesh
    • Supplement
    • Infograph
    • Archive
    • Gallery
    • Long Read
    • Interviews
    • Offbeat
    • Magazine
    • Climate Change
    • Health
    • Cartoons
  • বাংলা
SATURDAY, JUNE 07, 2025
UK's Sunak qualifies for PM race as Johnson eyes comeback

Europe

BSS/AFP
22 October, 2022, 09:40 am
Last modified: 22 October, 2022, 09:46 am

Related News

  • UK ex-PM Johnson says he planned raid on Dutch factory to get COVID vaccines
  • Sunak's big bet ends in Tory Party's worst defeat in history
  • Key moments from 14 years of Conservative rule in UK
  • Britons vote in poll expected to deliver Labour landslide
  • UK Election 2024: Rishi Sunak 2.0 or Keir Starmer for PM? All you need to know

UK's Sunak qualifies for PM race as Johnson eyes comeback

BSS/AFP
22 October, 2022, 09:40 am
Last modified: 22 October, 2022, 09:46 am
UK's Sunak qualifies for PM race as Johnson eyes comeback

British Conservative politician Rishi Sunak late Friday reached the minimum threshold to run for party leader, as former prime minister Boris Johnson targeted an audacious comeback.

Cabinet member Penny Mordaunt became the first to formally declare her candidacy, after the UK's ruling party was forced into a second leadership contest following the dramatic resignation of Prime Minister Liz Truss.

"Honoured to be the 100th Tory MP to support #Ready4Rishi," senior backbencher Tobias Ellwood tweeted, as other backers of Sunak also said he had crossed the barrier.

The Business Standard Google News Keep updated, follow The Business Standard's Google news channel

Sunak will automatically become party leader and prime minister if his opponents fail also to win 100 nominations from their fellow Tory MPs.

Security minister Tom Tugendhat, who ran for leader himself after Johnson was toppled in July, issued a thinly veiled appeal to the scandal-tainted ex-leader to stay out of the race.

"This is no time for political games, for settling scores, or for looking backwards," Tugendhat said as he also endorsed Sunak late Friday.

Neither Sunak nor Johnson has publicly declared they are running.

But Johnson cut short a Caribbean holiday to take part in the accelerated contest, which will see Tory MPs hold a vote on Monday before a possible online ballot for party members next week.

James Duddridge, one of Johnson's closest allies in parliament, said he had been in contact with his old boss via WhatsApp.

"He said... 'We are going to do this. I'm up for it'," the MP said, as a Sky News reporter posted a photograph apparently showing Johnson on a flight home from the Dominican Republic.

'Fresh start' 

The Sunak and Johnson camps are reportedly seeking talks to see if there is scope for a unity deal -- although there is plenty of bad blood since the former prime minister's defenestration.

Mordaunt, who just missed out on making the final runoff after Johnson quit, said she was running for "a fresh start, a united party and leadership in the national interest".

But polling company YouGov found that three in five voters now want an early general election, in line with demands from opposition parties, as Britons struggle with a worsening cost-of-living crisis.

Labour and other parties argue only an election can end the months of political chaos, sparked when Johnson was himself forced out after non-stop personal and political scandal.

In the resultant contest, Truss won the support of just over 80,000 Tory party members, defeating Sunak, who correctly warned that her right-wing programme of debt-fuelled tax cuts would crash the economy.

Truss announced on Thursday she was quitting after just 44 tempestuous days in office.

'Questions to answer' 

Political website Guido Fawkes, which is running a rolling spreadsheet of Tory MPs' declared support, had Sunak on 103, Johnson on 68 and Mordaunt on 25 by late Friday.

Defence Secretary Ben Wallace, a favourite of the Tory grassroots, told reporters he was not standing himself. "At the moment, I'm leaning towards Boris Johnson," he said.

But Wallace added that Johnson still had "some questions to answer" over the multiple scandals, which resulted in a yet-to-launch investigation in the House of Commons.

If found guilty of lying to the Commons over the "Partygate" scandal -- lockdown-breaching revels held in Downing Street -- Johnson could be suspended or even expelled from parliament.

As a result of such controversies, Johnson left Number 10 with dismal poll ratings, and other Tories were aghast at the prospect of his coming back.

Veteran backbencher Roger Gale warned that Johnson could face a wave of resignations from MPs refusing to serve under him as leader.

'Backstabber' 

Johnson's ambiguous appeal was underlined by a YouGov poll that found 52 percent of voters opposed to his return.

In Sunak's constituency in Yorkshire, northern England, 58-year-old farmer Elaine Stones said the party had made a mistake in electing Truss instead of him.

"He's honest, reliable and he should have been voted in last time," she told AFP.

But retiree Maureen Ward called Sunak a "backstabber" who helped to topple Johnson.

"He wielded the knife and once you do that, you can't be trusted," she said.

 

'Rohingya' featuring persecution on Myanmar ethnic group hits cinema halls
All News

World+Biz

UK PM / Rishi Sunak / Boris Johnson

Comments

While most comments will be posted if they are on-topic and not abusive, moderation decisions are subjective. Published comments are readers’ own views and The Business Standard does not endorse any of the readers’ comments.

Top Stories

  • BNP Standing Committee criticises chief adviser's speech, calls for national election by December
    BNP Standing Committee criticises chief adviser's speech, calls for national election by December
  • Children celebrate Eid-ul-Adha at Baitul Mukarram on 7 June 2025. Photo: Rajib Dhar/TBS
    Main Eid congregation held at National Eidgah
  • Army Chief General Waker-Uz-Zaman and his wife exchange Eid greetings with Chief Adviser Muhammad Yunus at the State Guest House Jamuna in Dhaka today (7 June). Photo: CA Press Wing
    Army chief exchanges Eid greetings with CA Yunus

MOST VIEWED

  • BRAC Bank to issue Tk1,000cr social bond
    BRAC Bank to issue Tk1,000cr social bond
  • Long lines of vehicles were seen at the Mawa toll plaza, although movement remained smooth on 5 June 2025. Photos: TBS
    Padma Bridge sets new records for daily toll collection, vehicle crossings
  • The government vehicle into which a sacrificial cow was transported by a UNO. Photo: TBS
    Photo of Natore UNO putting cattle in govt vehicle takes social media by storm
  • Fire service personnel carry out rescue operations after Dhaka-bound Parjatak Express train hit a CNG auto-rickshaw last night (5 June). Several other vehicles also got trapped under the train. Photo: Mohammad Minhaj Uddin
    3 killed, several injured after Dhaka-bound Parjatak Express train hits CNG auto-rickshaw on Kalurghat bridge
  • China to help Bangladesh counter political disinformation in foreign media
    China to help Bangladesh counter political disinformation in foreign media
  • CA’s televised address to the nation on the eve of the Eid-ul-Adha on 6 June. Photo: Focus Bangla
    National election to be held any day in first half of April 2026: CA

Related News

  • UK ex-PM Johnson says he planned raid on Dutch factory to get COVID vaccines
  • Sunak's big bet ends in Tory Party's worst defeat in history
  • Key moments from 14 years of Conservative rule in UK
  • Britons vote in poll expected to deliver Labour landslide
  • UK Election 2024: Rishi Sunak 2.0 or Keir Starmer for PM? All you need to know

Features

Illustration: TBS

Unbearable weight of the white coat: The mental health crisis in our medical colleges

2d | Panorama
(From left) Sadia Haque, Sylvana Quader Sinha and Tasfia Tasbin. Sketch: TBS

Meet the women driving Bangladesh’s startup revolution

3d | Panorama
Illustration: TBS

The GOAT of all goats!

4d | Magazine
Photo: Nayem Ali

Eid-ul-Adha cattle markets

4d | Magazine

More Videos from TBS

Eid joy fills the capital, with residents busy performing animal sacrifices

Eid joy fills the capital, with residents busy performing animal sacrifices

23m | TBS Today
Chief Advisor offers Eid prayers at National Eidgah

Chief Advisor offers Eid prayers at National Eidgah

53m | TBS Today
Hamas warns of tougher resistance if fighting doesn't stop

Hamas warns of tougher resistance if fighting doesn't stop

1h | TBS World
No thought was given to the timing of the elections in April: Mirza Fakhrul

No thought was given to the timing of the elections in April: Mirza Fakhrul

2h | TBS Today
EMAIL US
contact@tbsnews.net
FOLLOW US
WHATSAPP
+880 1847416158
The Business Standard
  • About Us
  • Contact us
  • Sitemap
  • Advertisement
  • Privacy Policy
  • Comment Policy
Copyright © 2025
The Business Standard All rights reserved
Technical Partner: RSI Lab

Contact Us

The Business Standard

Main Office -4/A, Eskaton Garden, Dhaka- 1000

Phone: +8801847 416158 - 59

Send Opinion articles to - oped.tbs@gmail.com

For advertisement- sales@tbsnews.net