‘Of course I’m going to go for it’: former British foreign secretary Boris Johnson confirms he will bid for Conservative party leadership
- Johnson has said he is determined to see Britain leave the European Union
Boris Johnson has publicly thrown his hat into the ring for the Conservative Party leadership, saying he is determined to see Brexit become a reality.
Addressing insurance brokers at a conference in Manchester, he said: “I’m going to go for it. Of course I’m going to go for it. I don’t think that is any particular secret to anybody. But you know, there is no vacancy at present.”
The former foreign secretary had initially made light of a question on whether he intended to make a bid to replace Theresa May as prime minister.
“We’ve run out of time,” he joked.
However, he then added: “But I’ll answer your question nonetheless. There’s no vacancy. On the other hand, what I will say is that there has been a real lack of grip and dynamism in the way we’ve approached these talks.
“We’ve failed over the past three years to put forward a convincing narrative about how we exploit the opportunities of Brexit. All I can say, as tactfully and usefully as I can, is that I have a boundless appetite to try to get it right and to help the country to get on the right path.”
Earlier Johnson said he had predicted the rapid rise of the Brexit party – or a party of similar rightwing leanings – 18 months ago.
Theresa May pins her hopes on final June Brexit vote in order to leave EU in July
“I said if we continued in this supine way there would rise again, like a great puff ball, a rightwing party. The only way to address it is for us to get Brexit done, but also to get it done in such a way that we actually deliver on the mandate of the British people.”
He continued: “If we can’t do that, there really will continue to be that threat from the Brexit party and others.
“People will just say that democracy is being ignored, and that one way or another the ruling elite are conspiring collectively, whether overtly or not, to subvert it.”
On the prospect of a second vote on Brexit he said: “People would feel really outraged that they’re being frogmarched to the polls again by the establishment.
“I think they’re wrong. They’re barking up the wrong tree, and it would be giving encouragement to the Scottish Nationalists who also want a second referendum.”
“They had a discussion, they had a long, careful think about it. It’s contemptuous of people’s opinions to say they were incapable of making up their minds.”
