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Ukraine has officially backed Boris Johnson to return as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom following the resignation of Liz Truss.
Amid mounting speculation Mr Johnson is poised as a likely contender to replace Ms Truss, the official Twitter account for Ukraine released a statement which read: ‘Better call Boris’.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky and Mr Johnson shared a particularly close relationship during the former PM’s time in office, owing primarily to his outspoken support of Ukraine after the Russian invasion.
Throughout Mr Johnson’s messy departure from No10, Mr Zelensky hailed him as a ‘true friend’ who ‘acted swiftly and resolutely’ to offer support during the crisis.
Mr Zelensky said the UK was his country’s ‘dearest friend and closest ally’ under Mr Johnson, and praised the PM’s ‘courage and determination’ in championing support for Ukraine.
Amid mounting speculation Mr Johnson is poised as a likely contender to replace Ms Truss, the official Twitter account for Ukraine released a statement which read: ‘Better call Boris’
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky and Mr Johnson shared a particularly close relationship during the former PM’s time in office, owing primarily to his outspoken support of Ukraine after the Russian invasion
Memes flooded the ‘BringBackBoris’ hashtag which depicted the former PM as a pilot from Top Gun
Now, it’s looking increasingly likely the pair will be able to continue their professional relationship
‘At every meeting and conversation Boris had one very good question, ‘What else? What else do you need?’,’ he said. ‘It became our watchword, guaranteeing effective progress and movement forward.’
Now, it’s looking increasingly likely the pair will be able to continue their professional relationship.
Twitter is alight with debate on both sides of the argument. While many are excited at the thought of Mr Johnson’s triumphant return to the top job, others have voiced concerns.
‘The country needs stability, not scandal,’ one critic said.
‘Integrity, market confidence, support for the most needy. Oh and there’s no money left thanks to him and Truss. Johnson is not anything that this country needs.’
The hashtag #BringBackBoris is trending on social media with hundreds of voters voicing their support for the axed PM
Many are making light of the increasingly likely situation that Mr Johnson could return to the top job
Mr Johnson has been referred to as ‘the people’s prime minister’ in some tweets
Another said: ‘Boris Johnson?! Are you having a laugh? Picking a new Tory leader is like picking the best toilet on the last day of a festival.’
The hashtag #BringBackBoris is trending on social media with hundreds of voters voicing their support for the axed PM.
Mr Johnson’s face was superimposed onto multiple snippets of scenes from the Top Gun movies in order to depict him as the hero the UK needs to escape this mess.
One of his supporters said: The country never lost confidence in Boris. The party did. It’s time he returned.’
Another added: ‘Boris is on his way back to save the UK, he’ll rise from the ashes like a phoenix. And we will all live happily ever after.’
With a quarter of MPs declaring support for their preferred candidates, Mr Johnson currently counts 50 backers, compared to Rishi Sunak’s 39 and Penny Mourdant’s 17, according to the latest tally by Guido Fawkes.
Twitter is alight with debate on both sides of the argument. While many are excited at the thought of Mr Johnson’s triumphant return to the top job, others have voiced concerns
‘The country needs stability, not scandal,’ one critic said. ‘Integrity, market confidence, support for the most needy. Oh and there’s no money left thanks to him and Truss. Johnson is not anything that this country needs.’
It comes after the Conservative Party announced would-be successors would need to win nominations from 100 MPs to get on the ballot.
The threshold means that realistically a maximum of three can make it into a vote, and that there could be a simple coronation of a winner if they get far more than that.
While Mr Johnson has been publicly backed by some MPs to run to return to power, including his former culture secretary Nadine Dorries, several others said they don’t believe he will reach the threshold.
One said the ‘brutal truth’ is he is likely to get no more than 60 – leaving some of his close friends to advise him not to run. He also remains on holiday in the Caribbean and faces a race against time to return and launch an effective campaign.
However in a boost to his chances, the final two candidates will go head-to-head in a final online vote by party members next Friday.
Mr Johnson remains popular with the Tory grassroots and could win such a vote, and allies say he would be able to ‘honestly say’ he has a mandate for government, and has the ability to ‘turn the tide and avert the disaster of a Labour government’.
But it remains unclear whether he can reach the 100 threshold, or whether a figure from the Tory right could stand and risk splitting the vote.
The technicalities of the party vote has not stopped the public from voicing an opinion.
It comes as Ms Truss was relentlessly mocked on Twitter last night after her humiliating resignation.
Her 44 days in office made her the shortest serving prime minister in UK history.
Speaking from a lectern in Downing Street this afternoon, Ms Truss said she had told the King she was resigning as the leader of the Conservative Party as she recognised she ‘cannot deliver the mandate’ which she committed to a little over six weeks ago.
She held talks with the chairman of the 1922 Committee of backbench Conservatives, Sir Graham Brady, and agreed to a fresh leadership election ‘to be completed within the next week’.
‘This will ensure that we remain on a path to deliver our fiscal plan and maintain our country’s economic stability and national security,’ she added.
‘I will remain as Prime Minister until a successor has been chosen.’
Twitter was alight yesterday with Tweets mocking Liz Truss for her unsuccessful stint in the top job
Labour leader Sir Keir Starmer demanded a general election ‘now’ so that the nation can have ‘a chance at a fresh start’.
Without a general election, the Conservatives will be on their third prime minister on the mandate won by Boris Johnson in December 2019.
Sir Keir said: ‘The Conservative Party has shown it no longer has a mandate to govern. The British public deserve a proper say on the country’s future. They must have the chance to compare the Tories’ chaos with Labour’s plans to sort out their mess, grow the economy for working people and rebuild the country for a fairer, greener future.
‘We must have a chance at a fresh start. We need a general election – now.’
Ms Truss’s resignation came just a little over 24 hours after she told MPs she was ‘a fighter, not a quitter’.
Former Prime Minister Boris Johnson currently has the largest number of Tory MPs backing him
Former Chancellor Rishi Sunak is almost certain to stand and is running a close second to Mr Johnson tonight
Leader of the House Penny Mordaunt is in third place tonight with 12 MPs backing her
Sir Graham Brady MPs hoping to have their name on Monday’s ballot would need to have at least 100 nominations from their colleagues
But her odds of survival were slashed following chaotic scenes in the Commons after the resignation of Suella Braverman as home secretary.
The number of Tory MPs publicly demanding Ms Truss’s resignation doubled before lunch was over on Thursday, taking the total to 15, but a far greater number were privately agitating for her exit.
The pound lifted on the resignation announcement following another volatile 24 hours for the currency amid political turmoil.
Liberal Democrat leader Sir Ed Davey said: ‘We don’t need another Conservative Prime Minister lurching from crisis to crisis. We need a general election now and the Conservatives out of power.’
Prime Minister Liz Truss delivers a speech outside of 10 Downing Street
Prime Minister Liz Truss walking back inside No10 with her husband Hugh O’Leary
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