Former Prime Minister Boris Johnson's claimed "demeaning" experience of "begging people for votes" over the weekend has been detailed by Sir Iain Duncan Smith. In an interview with journalist Andrew Marr on LBC on Monday, the Tory politician claimed Mr Johnson had expected there would be "at least 150 people claiming him", and that he'd had "no plans" and "no team" behind him.
The comments come after Boris's former Chancellor, Rishi Sunak, was declared the new leader of the Conservative party on Monday (October 24) after the only other candidate in the race, Penny Mordaunt, pulled out at the last moment. On Sunday, Boris Johnson said he would not stand after all for the Conservative Party leadership, but in a statement he insisted he had secured the 100 nominations needed to get onto the ballot paper.
The former prime minister said he had “reached out” to his leadership rivals to see if they could work together in the national interest, but it had not proved possible. Mr Johnson said: "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. You can get more politics news and other story updates straight to your inbox by subscribing to our newsletters here.
