Boris Johnson has pulled out of the Conservative leadership race and WON’T be the new Prime Minister, despite support from fellow Tory MPs to see him back as PM.
Rumours had been swirling that Mr Johnson would return to his former job after Liz Truss resigned after just 44 days, making her the shortest-serving Prime Minister in history.
It’s now widely expected that Rishi Sunak, former Chancellor, will be announced as the new PM, as he has a commanding lead over Penny Mordaunt.
Mr Johnson’s withdrawal from the leadership contest has turned it into a two-horse race.
Both will need to have the support of 100 MPs by this afternoon – Mr Sunak has already reached this target.
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Boris Johnson has pulled out of the race to find the new PM. Credit: Andrew Parsons / No 10 Downing Street
If either of them has fewer than 100 supporters, the other will automatically be named the new leader of the Conservative party.
Mr Johnson said, withdrawing from the leadership contest last night, that it was ‘simply not the right time’.
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He said that although he believes he stood a ‘very good chance’ of getting back into Downing Street, he couldn’t ‘govern effectively unless you have a united party in parliament’.
His statement also added that he has ‘much to offer’ and is ‘well placed to deliver a Conservative victory in 2024’, while stressing that an earlier general election would be ‘disastrous’.
Since his resignation, Ms Mordaunt said: “In taking this difficult decision last night @BorisJohnson has put country before party, and party before self. He worked to secure the mandate and the majority we now enjoy.”
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We should put it to good use, and I know he will work with us to do so.
In taking this difficult decision last night @BorisJohnson has put country before party, and party before self. He worked to secure the mandate and the majority we now enjoy.
We should put it to good use, and I know he will work with us to do so.
Mr Johnson’s full statement reads: “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.
“I have been attracted because I led our party into a massive election victory less than three years ago – and I believe I am therefore uniquely placed to avert a general election now.
“A general election would be a further disastrous distraction just when the government must focus on the economic pressures faced by families across the country.
“I believe I am well placed to deliver a Conservative victory in 2024 – and tonight I can confirm that I have cleared the very high hurdle of 102 nominations, including a proposer and a seconder, and I could put my nomination in tomorrow. There is a very good chance that I would be successful in the election with Conservative Party members – and that I could indeed be back in Downing Street on Friday.
“But in the course of the last days I have sadly come to the conclusion that this would simply not be the right thing to do. You can’t govern effectively unless you have a united party in parliament.
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“And though I have reached out to both Rishi and Penny – because I hoped that we could come together in the national interest – we have sadly not been able to work out a way of doing this.
“Therefore I am afraid the best thing is that I do not allow my nomination to go forward and commit my support to whoever succeeds.
“I believe I have much to offer but I am afraid that this is simply not the right time.”
By 2pm today, the 1922 committee will announce who has made it onto the ballot.
Featured image: Twitter, @PennyMordaunt / Flickr / Flickr
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Oasis finally confirm ‘private ballot’ ticket information for reunion tour
Daisy Jackson
Oasis have just announced more information about how tickets will be sold through a ‘private ballot’ for their extra reunion tour dates.
The group added two additional shows at Wembley Stadium after their initial 17 gigs across London, Manchester, Dublin, Edinburgh and Cardiff generated huge demand and sold out in a day.
Oasis and Ticketmaster came under fire though for the use of dynamic pricing, which saw ticket prices shoot up by hundreds of pounds by the time people made it through the online queues.
For these additional reunion tour dates at Wembley, ticket sales will look a little different.
They’ll be using a ‘private ballot’, which will give first dibs to those who missed out on the first ticket sale.
You’ll only be invited to register for the sale if you signed into your Ticketmaster account on Saturday 31 August, and joined a queue for a specific show.
And you’ll only receive an invitation if you DIDN’T manage to bag tickets the first time round.
THEN you’ll be able to register for the actual ballot, which still doesn’t guarantee you a ticket but does at least get you into a (hopefully less lengthy) queue.
“Invitations to enter the private ballot will be sent overnight tonight (Saturday) to eligible fans we have been able to identify.
“If you signed into your Ticketmaster UK account on Saturday, 31st August, and were able to join a queue for a specific show, but didn’t get a ticket-then you may be eligible to take part and will receive an email on how to register for the ballot.
“Keep an eye on the inbox associated with your Ticketmaster account, and don’t forget to check your junkmail.
“Once successfully registered, you will be entered into the ballot for a code for access to the final Wembley on sale.
“Due to the demand for the shows and to avoid last week’s long queues, codes will be strictly limited. Entry to the ballot does not guarantee you will receive a code.
“The ballot is only open to invited fans. You must register with the email to which your invitation was sent and which is registered with your Ticketmaster account.
“All other entries will be discounted. If you do not receive an email then unfortunately you will not be eligible for the ballot.
“You will be automatically discounted from the ballot, even if you go through the registration process.”
Featured image: Simon Emmett
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Manchester Airport named UK’s worst in annual Which? survey for third year running
Emily Sergeant
Manchester Airport has officially been declared the worst airport in the UK, according to a new survey by Which?… yet again.
The summer travel season may be drawing to a close now, with hundreds of flights having taken off and landed in our region over the last couple of months, but for any Greater Manchester holidaymakers who are still yet to jet off, an annual ranking by consumer choice group Which? has proved to be pretty grim reading.
That’s because several terminals at the UK’s third largest airport have found themselves at the bottom of the list in Which? latest findings.
Manchester Airport has hit back at the survey and defended itself, saying its own passenger surveys suggest people are “much more positive” about the airport, adding that it was “proud to give people in all parts of the North easy and affordable access to nearly 200 different destinations across the world”.
For its annual survey, Which? spoke to nearly 7,000 passengers to gather feedback about their experiences of flying from UK airports over the last 12 months, and asked them to score the airports across 11 categories.
Manchester Airport has been named the worst in the UK for the third year running / Credit: The Manc Group
Some of these categories including seating, staff, toilets, and of course, the queues we all dread at check in, bag drop, passport control, and security.
And just like in both 2022 and again in 2023, it was Manchester Airport Terminal 3 that ranked right at the bottom, receiving the lowest customer satisfaction score of 37%.
Manchester Terminal 1 ranked one place above that with a score of 40%, while Manchester Terminal 2 was a little further up the the list with a score of 51%, and just saw Luton Airport, London Stansted, and Belfast International Airport sandwiched in between it.
According to Which?, some of the complaints it received about Manchester Airport from passengers who responded to the survey this year was that older people struggled with long walks due to travelators being broken since 2021, difficulties with finding a seat, and “horrendous” queues with people apparently being “corralled like cattle”.
As mentioned though, Manchester Airport has slammed Which?’s findings in a formal statement.
The UK’s third largest airport has hit back at the survey results and defended itself / Credit:
Describing the survey as “disappointing to see”, Manchester Airport’s statement reads: “We understand not every experience is perfect and want all passengers to feel able to raise their concerns directly with us. That is why we speak to them on a daily basis, surveying hundreds of people a month to get in-the-moment feedback from a full range of perspectives.
“That is in stark contrast to Which?, which conducted a tiny and unrepresentative survey of its members six months ago, asking them to recollect airport experiences that could have been as far back in time as April 2023.
“Which? fully understands that its readers form a narrow group of passengers whose views cannot in any way be taken to represent those of the travelling public at large, but chooses to promote its survey findings as if they do.”
Manchester Airport says it’s disappointing see Which? “chase cheap headlines” with its “sensational and over-simplified characterisation of airports” and the different roles they play, adding: “To make matters worse, it has printed inaccurate statements about our facilities and security waiting times that paint a more negative picture than reality.