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London, United Kingdom \u2013 British politician Rishi Sunak was on Monday elected Conservative leader and will become the next prime minister, after rival Penny Mordaunt failed to secure the necessary 100 nominations from her fellow MPs.<\/p>\n
\u201cRishi Sunak is therefore elected as leader of the Conservative Party,\u201d senior backbencher Graham Brady said, as Mordaunt vowed her \u201cfull support\u201d for the former finance minister.<\/p>\n
Britain\u2019s Boris Johnson on Sunday dramatically ended an audacious bid to return to power within weeks of having been ousted, announcing he would not run to replace outgoing leader Liz Truss.<\/p>\n
The surprise decision the ex-premier said had been reached reluctantly after recognising he would not lead \u201ca united party in parliament\u201d.<\/p>\n
Johnson, 58, said he had reached out to both Sunak and cabinet member Penny Mordaunt \u2013 who launched her leadership campaign on Friday \u2013 to \u201ccome together in the national interest\u201d.<\/p>\n
But the three of them had \u201cnot been able to work out a way of doing this\u201d, he added.<\/p>\n
\u201cTherefore I am afraid the best thing is that I do not allow my nomination to go forward and commit my support to whoever succeeds,\u201d he said in a statement.<\/p>\n
\u201cI believe I have much to offer but I am afraid that this is simply not the right time.\u201d<\/p>\n
* This is a developing story.<\/p>\n