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Evening Standard
Evening Standard
World
Rachael Burford

Moving vans outside Downing Street as Boris Johnson prepares to leave

Removal vans were spotted outside No10 on Friday morning as Boris Johnson prepares to leave Downing Street.

The ousted Prime Minister has been commuting between London and country mansion Chequers for the past weeks before a new Tory leader is announced on Monday.

Scaffolding has been set up in the street in preparation for TV cameras to capture his final leaving speech and his successor entering No10.

Large removal vans were also spotted outside the famous residence, which Mr Johnson has been sharing with wife Carrie and their children since 2019, two weeks ago.

Mr Johnson, the MP for Uxbridge and South Ruislip, is said to be looking for a London home away from the "glare of central London”.

Liz Truss is on course to become Tory leader over rival Rishi Sunak next week. But the contest is being fought on a much tighter margin than expected, according to a Conservative pollster.

The Foreign Secretary is the frontrunner to replace Mr Johnson and some polls of party members have suggested her lead could have been at least 30 percentage points.

Tory peer Lord Hayward said he is not convinced a Ms Truss victory will be by such a margin.

He added a tighter win would mean it is “absolutely necessary” for Ms Truss to appoint a cabinet that brings together all sides of the Tory parliamentary party.

“My overall sense is Liz Truss will win but I am not convinced it will be by the margin that the polls are predicting,” he said.

“It will be clear, she will have a clear victory, but I would be surprised if it’s by the margin the polls are predicting.”

He said his prediction of a tighter margin of victory for Ms Truss is rooted in the conversations he has had with those who have attended the hustings.

Voting in the Conservative Party leadership contest closes at 5pm on Friday, with Mr Johnson’s successor announced on Monday and taking over as Prime Minister the following day.

Mr Johnson and his successor will then go to Balmoral rather than Buckingham Palace for an audience with the Queen.

Mr Johnson will formally tender his resignation to the monarch at her residence in Scotland.

This will be followed by an audience with the new Tory leader, where she or he will be invited to form a government.

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