Boris Johnson has held talks with his former finance minister Rishi Sunak as a key deadline looms in the race to replace Liz Truss as British Prime Minister, UK media outlets reported Sunday.
The two men have become the early favorites to replace Truss, who announced her resignation Thursday just six weeks into a term that threw Britain into political and economic turmoil.
Sunak declared on Sunday morning that he would be standing in the contest. In a tweet, he wrote, “The United Kingdom is a great country but we face a profound economic crisis. That’s why I am standing to be Leader of the Conservative Party and your next Prime Minister. I want to fix our economy, unite our Party and deliver for our country.”
The former chancellor of the exchequer has already reached the 100-nomination threshold to make it to the voting stage, but and Johnson’s allies said the former PM had returned to the country from a holiday in the Caribbean with the intention of joining the race, PA news reported.
A runoff between the two men could prove divisive for the ruling Conservative party, not least because many of Johnson’s supporters blame Sunak’s resignation in July for sparking the downfall of his government. Some outlets have speculated that the two men could strike some kind of deal.
The BBC’s sources said the meeting took place but “it wasn’t disclosed what they discussed,” while Britain’s PA Media news agency reported the two “were said to be locked in talks late into the evening” Saturday.
Sky News, meanwhile, referred to the meeting as a “secret summit.”
Leave a Reply