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.
ADVERTISEMENT
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’.
ADVERTISEMENT
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.”
ADVERTISEMENT
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.
ADVERTISEMENT
“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
News
Health Secretary insists there’s ‘no shortage’ of antibiotics amid Strep A outbreak
Daisy Jackson
Health Secretary Steve Barclay has addressed claims that there is a ‘shortage’ of antibiotics amid the ongoing outbreak of bacterial infection Strep A.
Barclay appeared on Sky News this morning, where he told Kay Burley that there was a ‘good supply’ of antibiotics.
It comes after pharmacy director Zeshan Rehmani claimed that ‘there’s no drugs’ when the schools minister Nick Gibb proposed giving out antibiotics to children in schools.
Rehmani said: “Today, we haven’t been able to get any penicillin in stock at all.”
But Barclay has now refuted those claims and says he’s been assured that the country has a ‘good supply’ of Penicillin.
He added that stock may need to be moved around if there are surges in demand in certain areas.
'Are we worried about the supply of antibiotics or not?' – #KayBurley
Antibiotics can be prescribed to treat infections linked to Strep A, including tonsillitis, pharyngitis, scarlet fever, impetigo and cellulitis, which ‘rarely become serious’.
Nine children have now died from an illness linked to the infection.
The rise in infections is thought to be linked to that fact that children mixed less during the Covid pandemic and therefore their systems aren’t immune to a number of different infections.
Barclay said today: “I checked with the team last night – we have an established team in the department that does this on a permanent basis – and they reassured me we have good supply.
Strep A
“The medical suppliers are required to notify us if they’ve got shortages.
“Now, sometimes, GPs can have particular surges if they’ve got a lot of demand in an area, and that’s quite routine, we can move the stock around our depots.
“As of last night, when we checked (with suppliers), they said they could reassure us that they’ve got good stock and were moving that around to meet demand.”
your child is feeding or eating much less than normal
your child has had a dry nappy for 12 hours or more or shows other signs of dehydration
your baby is under 3 months and has a temperature of 38C, or is older than 3 months and has a temperature of 39C or higher
your baby feels hotter than usual when you touch their back or chest, or feels sweaty
your child is very tired or irritable
Call 999 or go to A&E if:
your child is having difficulty breathing – you may notice grunting noises or their tummy sucking under their ribs
there are pauses when your child breathes
your child’s skin, tongue or lips are blue
your child is floppy and will not wake up or stay awake
Featured image: Sky News
News
BrewDog advert claiming fruit-flavoured beer is ‘one of your five a day’ banned by ASA
Emily Sergeant
A BrewDog advert claiming its fruit-flavoured beers can be considered “one of your five a day” has been banned by authorities.
As part of an email that was sent out to customers back in July this year promoting beers with names such as ‘Lost In Guava’, ‘Pineapple Punch’, and ‘Lost In Lychee & Lime’, popular brewery and pub chain BrewDog claimed the drinks could be considered “one of your five a day”.
But after someone complained to the Advertising Standards Agency (ASA) that the phrase was considered misleading, the advert has now been banned.
The ASA said consumers “would not expect advertisers to include such claims”.
Addressing the complaint and confirming the banning of the advert, the ASA said: “The ASA acknowledged that the subject heading ‘one of your five a day’ might be interpreted by some consumers as a humorous nod to the fruit-flavoured beers featured in the body of the email.
“However, because the claim referred to well-known government advice on health and wellbeing, we considered that, in general, consumers would not expect advertisers to include such claims unless the advertised product was recognised as meeting the requirements of that advice.”
A BrewDog advert claiming its fruit-flavoured beers can be considered “one of your five a day” has been banned / Credit: BrewDog
The ASA added that many consumers would be aware that some craft beers contain an unusually high amount of fruit, but in general, they would be uncertain as to whether this would be counted as a portion.
Because of the this, the advert has been banned and must not re-appear in its current form.
BrewDog then agreed in response to the ASA ruling the advertised beers did not count towards a consumer’s five a day.
The ASA said consumers “would not expect advertisers to include such claims”. / Credit: ASA
Yet, the company sarcastically followed this up by admitting the advert was just “tongue in cheek” and only sent out via email to existing customers likely aware of BrewDog’s “playful” marketing style, believing they would generally understand that alcoholic beverages are not equivalent to portions of fruit or vegetables.
Daisy Jackson -
24th October 2022 
