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BORIS JOHNSON HAS said he won’t run to become the new British Prime Minister.
He made the shock announcement just before the noon deadline for Conservative party leader nominations.
Johnson was seen as one of the frontrunners for the position. He was one of the most vocal Leave campaigners in the Brexit referendum.
Speaking during a live press conference at St Ermin’s Hotel in London, he said: “Last week, the people of this country voted to take a new path and a new direction for Britain, in a decision that I passionately support.
“It is vital now to see this moment for what it is … It is a moment for hope and ambition for Britain. A time not to fight against the tide of history, but to take that tide at the flood and sail on to fortune.”
https://www.facebook.com/skynews/videos/1385783864769540/
Johnson added that he is not the right person to lead the Tories.
Having consulted colleagues, and in view of the circumstances in parliament, I have concluded that person cannot be me.
David Cameron announced his resignation after the UK voted to leave the EU last week.
Justice secretary and Leave campaigner Michael Gove announced his intention to run this morning. He had been expected to back Johnson’s bid.
Gove said he was standing because he had come “to the conclusion that Boris cannot provide the leadership or build the team for the task ahead”.
In the next few days I will lay out my plan for the United Kingdom which I hope can provide unity and change.
Earlier this week, a leaked email from Gove’s wife Sarah to her husband warned him about the risks of backing Johnson.
Meanwhile, interior minister Theresa May vowed to unite Britain as she launched her bid to succeed David Cameron as Conservative Party leader in a letter to The Times today.
Like Cameron, May supported remaining in the bloc but played a low-key and conciliatory role in the campaign that has seen her tipped as a unifying figure.
She wrote:
Following last week’s referendum, our country needs strong, proven leadership to steer us through this period of economic and political uncertainty, and to negotiate the best possible terms as we leave the European Union.
She said her leadership would launch a “radical programme of social reform” that would “make Britain a country that works for everyone”.
In a swipe at Johnson, former mayor of London, May wrote that a leader was needed who understood hardship.
“Some need to be told that what the government does isn’t a game, it’s a serious business that has real consequences for people’s lives,” May wrote.
Cameron promoted the 59-year-old vicar’s daughter to Home Secretary following his 2010 election victory and she kept the role after his 2015 re-election.
Known as a hardliner on immigration, May’s stern demeanour has drawn comparisons with 1980s Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher.
Boris Johnson
Bookmakers had Johnson as a slight favourite over May and The Sun newspaper reported yesterday that he had already secured the backing of 100 of the 330 Tory MPs who will whittle down the field to two nominees. He was expected to officially announce his bid this morning.
The ConservativeHome blog surveyed more than 1,300 members and found the slimmest of leads for May, mirroring the results of a YouGov poll published on Tuesday.
Pro-EU finance minister George Osborne, long seen as a possible Cameron successor, has ruled himself out.
Critics had questioned whether the Leave camp — and Johnson in particular — had any idea how to manage the unprecedented situation left by last week’s vote.
“He has still to offer anything like a concrete plan on how he would negotiate the post-Brexit future,” former BBC political editor Nick Robinson wrote.
Cameron’s successor is expected to take office in early September and will face the prospect of assuming negotiations with the EU on Britain’s relationship with the bloc and a decision on whether to call an early election.
First to throw his hat into the ring for Cameron’s job was work and pensions minister Stephen Crabb, a virtual unknown to the British public, whose campaign is expected to stress his working class credentials in a party often seen as elitist.
The 43-year-old urged the Conservatives to “get past this Boris/stop Boris dichotomy”, in reference to the divisive Johnson.
Andrea Leadsom, MP for South Northamptonshire, and Liam Fox, MP for North Somerset, have also thrown their names into the ring.
The new Conservative leader, who will be chosen by a postal ballot of party members currently numbering around 150,000, is expected to be announced on 9 September.
He or she will also become prime minister, but may call an early general election.
- Contains reporting from © AFP 2016
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9 of the 12 Irish MEPs supported the position of the Irish Air Line Pilots Association.
Europe has disregarded the advice of its own scientific advisors, and missed out on an opportunity to produce scientifically based rules in favour of commercial interests.
It’s a sad day for aviation safety!
I thought pilots could only fly a maximum of 900 hours per year , why does the above say a reduction from 1300 hours to 1000 hours?
What was advice?
Does this not mean shorter working year for pilots? Good for FTE bad for contract?
Once again those unaccountable pen pushers delve into industries they know nothing about, this is bad for passengers and pilots alike. The winners are arsehole airline management who will award themselves bonuses and politicians creating busywork for themselves. All the scientifically based rest and ftl rules go in the bin.
Pilot can fly for 11 hours, truck driver can only drive a max of 10. Somethings not well thought out.
but in fairness no auto pilot on a truck and only one driver
At least if a truck has an emergency just pull over to the side of the road not the same for aircraft . And some air operations are single pilot.
And a doctor can work for 36 hours.
Commercial airlines have few single pilot. Do ialpa want hours flying even lower … is that why they object?
If you understood what commercial flying is, you would know that all commercial pilots operating with companies with an AOC are bound by JAR-FCL which is the same as airline pilots.
You are correct I don’t know the technical definition of commercial as I don’t work in the industry. But as a layman reading the article my take is that iapla want even further reductions and restrictions on flying time which would require more pilots to run a schedule. No doubt a pay cut isn’t part of their plans. Contract pilots likely to increase at progressive airlines. One layman’s view only.
Have the airline pilots been asked for their opinion on the rule changes and if not why not, judging by their negative reaction it seems not, but now the EU have once again gone ahead and changed the rules without consultation.
So the cost will just go up
What people have to remember regarding pilots hours is they are calculated from off blocks (plane pushed off stand) to on blocks plane arrives at the gate.
You then need to factor in taxi delays ATC flow restrictions,Turn around times of the aircraft and also the pre flight which normally is 1 hour prior to departure+post flight debriefing.
Worst case: try driving your family laden car up rough slippery track into your unlit garage at speed on a dark wet night after 11 hours on the road…
I hope the people that brought this in will be on board when the accident happens, pure madness
have your say