Boris Johnson drops out of UK Prime Minister race

Former prime minister of the United Kingdom, Boris Johnson has ruled himself out of returning to the job.

This week speculations of Johnson’s impending move to replace Liz Truss intensified after she resigned following just 45 days in office.

Truss had replaced Johnson who was forced out of office in July following a series of scandals.

In the wake of Truss’ resignation, Johnson had reportedly undertaken consultations to see if he has support to return, meaning he would need to secure 100 nominations from Conservative lawmakers.

Despite some Conservative lawmakers publicly expressing their support for the former prime minister, Johnson in a statement on Sunday, October 23 withdrew his interest, saying he has enough support but has decided it is not the right thing to do.

“In the last few days I have been overwhelmed by the number of people who suggested that I should once again contest the Conservative Party leadership, both among the public and among friends and colleagues in parliament.

I have been attracted because I led our party into a massive election victory less than three years ago – and I believe I am therefore uniquely placed to avert a general election now,” the statement reads.

“A general election would be a further disastrous distraction just when the government must focus on the economic pressures faced by families across the country.

I believe I am well placed to deliver a Conservative victory in 2024 – and 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.

“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.

“And though I have reached out to both Rishi (Sunak) and Penny (Mordaunt) – because I hoped that we could come together in the national interest – we have sadly not been able to work out a way of doing this.

Therefore I am afraid the best thing is that I do not allow my nomination to go forward and commit my support to whoever succeeds. I believe I have much to offer but I am afraid that this is simply not the right time.”

Johnson’s withdrawal leaves the race open to Sunak, former finance minister, and Mordaunt, leader of the House of Commons.

EU offers Boris Johnson two week extension to Brexit trade talks

PM must decide on no-deal as Michel Barnier says negotiations ‘are not over’

Boris Johnson is facing the momentus decision of whether to walk out on Brexit trade talks, after the EU offered to extend them beyond the prime minister’s deadline to the end of October.

Chief negotiator Michel Barnier told reporters in Brussels that he had proposed a two-week extension to negotiations, offering to work through the weekend if necessary to get an agreement.

“I can confirm that we’re available, we shall remain available until the last possible day,” he said, after a meeting of EU leaders in the Belgian capital to discuss the issue.

“The negotiations aren’t over, we want to give these negotiations every chance of being successful to give every chance of agreement.”

The prime minister, who would trigger a no-deal Brexit if he decides to refuse the offer, this week said he would wait for the conclusions of the summit before making a decision about whether to extend on Friday.

He faces the choice amid a growing revolt at home over his handling of the Covid-19 crisis, and with early signs that a second wave of the pandemic is about to hit the UK.

But a statement prepared by EU leaders after their discussion gave no hint of compromise, and was even downgraded from an earlier draft that promised “intensified” discussions, in case the wrong message was sent. 

“As of tomorrow I will be speaking with my counterpart David Frost [the UK chief negotiator],” Mr Barnier told reporters.

“On Monday we’ll be in London for the full week, including the weekend if necessary, the following week in Brussels. 

“That’s what I have proposed to the British team to negotiate in the short space of time still left to us, so that we can negotiate this agreement through to the end of October.”

Speaking alongside European Council president Charles Michel, the chief negotiator said that sticking points remain in three perennial areas: the level playing field on regulations, governance of any deal, and fisheries.

The issue of governance has become particularly important following a UK decision to override parts of the Brexit withdrawal agreement with its Internal Market Bill, an episode has led some EU member states to call for stronger enforcement measures for any future deal, diplomats say.

Missing from the press conference lineup was Ursula von der Leyen, the European Commission president. Ms Von der Leyen arrived at the summit as normal but had to leave near the beginning to self-isolate, after one of her team tested positive. 

Mr Johnson is expected to make his announcement on whether talks will continue on Friday, after the conclusion of the summit’s second day. If he decides to end talks there, the UK will crash out of the single market and customs union on 31 December with nothing to replace them, and fare tariffs and other economic disruption. The government has taken to referring to the eventuality as an  “Australia-style Brexit”. 

A UK government spokesperson said of the meeting’s results: “As the PM made clear on his call with the EU Presidents [on Wednesday night], he will reflect on the outcome of the European Council before setting out the UK’s next steps, in light of his statement of 7 September.”

ANOTHER CORONA VIRUS LOCKDOWN IN THE UK!!!

Another national coronavirus lockdown is a possibility and we have to do what we can to avoid that at all costs, a leading UK scientist has said.

Prof Peter Horby said the UK was at a “precarious point” as Covid-19 cases and hospital admissions continue to rise.

It comes after England’s deputy chief medical officer warned the country was at a “tipping point”.

Ministers say their local approach to restrictions is the right way forward.

The prime minister is expected to announce tougher local restrictions on Monday.

In a statement to MPs, Boris Johnson will outline plans for a three-tier system, where each region in England is placed into a tier based on the severity of cases in the area.

Later on Sunday, he will hold a call with cabinet ministers to update them on the next steps.

Across the UK, the R number – the average number of people each infected person passes the virus on to – is now estimated between 1.2 and 1.5. Anything above 1.0 means cases are increasing.

On Saturday, 15,166 people in the UK were reported to have tested positive for coronavirus – up 1,302 on Friday’s figure, according to the latest figures on the government’s dashboard. There were a further 81 deaths – a decrease of six on Friday.

Prof Horby, chair of the New and Emerging Respiratory Virus Threats Advisory Group (Nervtag) and a government adviser, said the “critical mission” now was to protect the NHS to avoid all non-essential hospital services being cancelled, as they were when the UK went into its first nationwide lockdown in March.

“We really need to provide care to everybody – those with Covid and those without,” he said. “The way to do that is to keep the numbers down.”

He warned that some hospitals in the north of England were already coming under pressure and it might not be long before intensive care beds fill up.

“I am afraid we are going to have to make some very difficult choices and act very quickly,” he added.

Prof Horby said a surge in cases in the North was partly because people were coming into contact with more people than in other parts of the country.

He also told the BBC’s Andrew Marr Show that in the months before the increase in cases, numbers had not dropped to as low a level in the North as in other parts of England.

Prof Horby said the country must accept more stringent measures to drive down transmission of the virus.

In an earlier statement, England’s deputy chief medical officer Prof Jonathan Van-Tam said the seasons were “against us” and the country was running into a “headwind” ahead of the winter months.

He warned more deaths would follow a rise in cases over coming weeks and urged people to limit social contact.

It is expected that parts of the north of England and the Midlands will be placed under tougher measures as part of the prime minister’s announcement.

In addition, Liverpool, where there are currently 600 cases per 100,000 people, is expected to be placed under the most severe set of restrictions, with all the city’s pubs forced to close. Many who frequent pubs and restaurants will be unable to do so.

Pubs and restaurants across the central belt of Scotland closed their doors for at least two weeks on Friday, to try to tackle a rise in cases.

Political leaders in the north of England fear harsher measures in their regions could damage local economies and leave some people struggling to survive.

They say Chancellor Rishi Sunak’s announcement – to pay two-thirds of workers’ wages for UK firms forced to close by law by coronavirus restrictions – is “insufficient”.

David Greenhalgh, Conservative leader of Bolton Council, said: “The North feels like they are being treated differently.

“We know our rates are high, we are not underestimating that, but we cannot throw our local economy to the wall. I urge government to respect that.

According to Lisa Mandy “It’s very clear that we do need further restrictions”. Shadow foreign secretary Lisa Nandy, who is also MP for Wigan, agreed further restrictions were needed but accused the government of treating people with contempt.

Moreover, “I haven’t felt anger like this since I was growing up in the 1980s. People feel that they haven’t just been abandoned, they now feel that the government is actively working against us.”

She said Labour would try to force a House of Commons vote on Mr Sunak’s plans “so there is an opportunity to put forward an alternative support package”.

Reactions as Boris Johnson references M people during speech

The PM made a speech at the virtual Tory party conference and even ardent supporters would have to join in with Government critics and agree there was an awful lot of wind in the speech as the Prime Minister pledged a new concentration on creating clean energy sources, mainly wind.

Mr Johnson at one point stated: “As Saudi Arabia is to oil, the UK is to wind.”

With almost Trumpian bravado, Mr Johnson challenged the naysayers to physical jousts to prove his point, saying: “I could refute these critics of my athletic abilities in any way they want: arm-wrestle, leg-wrestle, Cumberland wrestle, sprint-off, you name it”

In a wide-ranging speech full of ambition but, as ever, lacking in detail he also promised to “fix the injustice of care home funding” by “bringing the magic of averages to the rescue of millions”, although aides were unable to set out what he meant.

He wanted to explore the use of one-to-one teaching for gifted pupils or those in danger of falling behind, saying it could be “transformational”.

Johnson also attacked “lefty human rights lawyers and other do-gooders” who had “hamstrung” the legal system.

Drivel

He shook off any doubters that he was too physically unfit for the job, saying “and of course this is self-evident drivel, the kind of seditious propaganda that you would expect from people who don’t want this Government to succeed, who wanted to stop us delivering Brexit and all our other manifesto pledges.”

Then the PM discussed his own experience with Covid. Johnson said he was “too fat” and had lost 26 pounds since he had the disease. The he went revealed himself to be a fan of 90s dance and soul band M People

He referenced one of the band’s biggest hits Search For The Hero, saying: “I am going to continue that diet, because you’ve got to search for the hero inside yourself in the hope that that individual is considerably slimmer.”

As you can imagine this comment left many on social media bemused.

MORE DEATHS IN THE UK

The UK announces 7,143 new cases and 71 more Covid-related deaths!!!

The cases are a daily record since mass testing began – but experts believe the figure was much higher in the spring. The daily deaths announcement was the highest since 1 July, when 97 deaths were confirmed

But hospital admissions fall in England for fourth day in a row

PM Boris Johnson apologises for “misspeaking” about new virus rules in north-east England

The world’s coronavirus death toll crosses one million, with the US, Brazil and India making up nearly half of the total

The UN secretary general calls it a “mind-numbing” figure and “an agonising milestone”