Rushcliffe MP Ken Clarke has called on Michael Gove to drop his bid to become Prime Minister, accusing him of adding an “air of farce” to the leadership race.
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Mr Hayes, who originally indicated his support for former London mayor Boris Johnson to be the next Prime Minister, said: “The country voted for Britain to exit from the European Union and the only person who can take that forward is the person who believed in it”.
Mr Gove said he accepted that “all sorts of people would attack me personally” as a result of his decision, which has been widely viewed as an act of betrayal and may have fatally damaged his chances of winning the leadership contest.
Vote Leave campaign leader Boris Johnson leaves his home in London, Britain June 29, 2016.
Clarke told the BBC that “one of the first priorities for a leader of a party and certainly a prime minister is that you should have the trust, as far as possible, of your colleagues”.
The list of five candidates will be whittled down to two in several votes by Conservative lawmakers, with the victor then being selected from the final pair by party members.
“Theresa will provide the strong and credible leadership the country needs as we negotiate our way out of the European Union as she is someone who has the experience of negotiating in Brussels”.
He said: “Having consulted colleagues and in view of the circumstances of Parliament, I have concluded that person can not be me”.
Just 24 hours after his manoeuvring forced frontrunner Boris Johnson to pull out of the Conservative leadership contest, the Justice Secretary insisted he had done “almost everything not to be a candidate” but standing for the leadership was “the right thing to do”.
During a press conference today, Mr Gove said the country needed someone “with the desire for change”.
Speaking at the Policy Exchange think tank he helped set up, Mr Gove ruled out a general election before 2020.
Johnson, who lead the “Leave” movement during the UK’s European Union membership referendum, surprised the public as he was considered one of the favored ones to succeed Cameron, and made a decision to pull out from the race.
The frontrunner in the battle to become David Cameron’s successor was at Henley Royal Regatta in Oxfordshire as Michael Gove laid out his claim to take the reins of the party after ousting his closest political ally, Boris Johnson.
Gove says he has been advocating a British exit, or Brexit, for 20 years.
“I will ensure we honour the instructions the British people have given us”, Mr Gove said.
They will then vie for the support of the full party membership.
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“She has the track record, the temperament and the commitment to unite both the party and the country behind a clear plan for our future”.
