LONDON — Boris Johnson and Rishi Sunak, contenders to be the next U.K. prime minister, held face-to-face talks Saturday to discuss the Conservative leadership contest, according to people familiar with the discussions, seeking a deal that would eliminate the need to take a potentially divisive runoff vote between them to party members.
The former prime minister and ex-chancellor spoke as some Tory MPs called on them to put aside their differences and thrash out a deal that would see one of them take over as premier and the other serve in a senior Cabinet position, the people said, declining to be identified because the matter is private.
The meeting represents yet another twist in what’s been a chaotic year in U.K. politics. The chances of a deal were previously considered almost impossible due to the personal fallout between the two men, the people said. Johnson and Sunak became bitter personal enemies this summer when Sunak resigned as finance minister of Johnson’s administration, a move that helped trigger his downfall.
The former premier is currently trailing behind Sunak with far fewer public endorsements from Members of Parliament, though his campaign team claimed he has over 100 privately backing him. Penny Mordaunt, who appears to have less support than either, is the only person to have publicly declared their candidacy.
Liz Truss’ exit after just 44 days as prime minister on Thursday triggered a speedy leadership race, one that could theoretically see Johnson and Sunak square off. The potential of a contest has alarmed some of the party’s grandees.
In comments that largely echoed those of former Telegraph editor Charles Moore, ex-party chairman Lord Ashcroft tweeted that Johnson should sit out the contest and back Sunak.
In brokering a potential agreement, Sunak could point to his support among MPs as evidence he’s most likely to be able to command a majority in parliament and unite the deeply divided party. But Johnson, if he’s sure he has enough support to pass the 100-strong threshold to enter the contest, may overlook this since he’s still popular with grassroots members, who are set to get a final say in the race.
It’s possible both men could offer top government positions to get the other’s endorsements — though their disagreements over economic policy just months ago cast doubt over whether they’d want to work together again. Neither has announced he’s running, and even if one opts not to, whoever’s still standing would probably have to beat Mordaunt.
A maximum of three Tory MPs will be able to run, as the party has set a threshold of 100 MPs for candidates to even get on the ballot paper, and there are a total of 357 MPs in the party. MPs have until 2 p.m. Monday to vote for their preferred candidate. The list will be whittled down to two contenders the same day if there are three candidates who pass the required threshold.
Assuming two candidates are still in the race after Monday, if one does not pull out, grassroots members have until Friday morning to vote.
