As Mr Johnson thanked voters for trusting his plan to leave the European Union, leaders stepped in to quell rising panic after the shock win. Until then, British Prime Minister David Cameron believed he would back Remain.
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The man who said “count me out” of any leadership bid is the most popular choice among grassroots Conservatives. Britain’s decision to leave the European Union, a victory for the populist cause, may be a defining moment for Britain and the European project. On Friday, it sent shares and the sterling currency sharply lower amid warnings of damage to the economy. Vote Leave campaigners Gisela Stuart, left, Boris Johnson, centre, and Michael Gove hold a press conference at Vote Leave headquarters in London Friday June 24, 2016.
Khan says he believes Gove and Johnson will reach a pact similar to that reached between Tony Blair and Gordon Brown, who agreed one would become leader/prime minister, standing down for the other after a time. “The eurosceptic genie is out of the bottle and it will now not be put back”.
Johnson didn’t announce which side he was backing until February 21. “He is such an asset to that campaign, he made it optimistic, energetic and positive”, the friend told Reuters.
The former Mayor is a well-known wit who once described the likelihood of his becoming Prime Minister as “about as good as the chances of finding Elvis [Presley] on Mars or my being reincarnated as an olive”. These groups had been carefully polled and aides had held numerous focus groups that indicated that the “out” campaign could win only 42 percent of the vote by arguing exclusively on immigration.
With Cameron as party leader – destined to fight – and win, albeit in coalition – the 2010 general election, Johnson eyed up the impeding Mayor of London elections.
“The British people are subject to the decisions of a supranational and highly politicized court”, he wrote.
“It’s unfortunate that the prime minister and chancellor (finance minister) put themselves at the front and centre of the Remain campaign so the collateral political damage is really quite enormous”, Bridgen said.
The leader of the Vote Leave campaign attempted to ease fears about Brexit, insisting that there was no need to invoke Article 50 yet – the procedure which triggers a fixed two-year countdown to leaving the EU.
London and Scotland voted to stay but the final count showed 17,410,742 Britons elected to Leave, while 16,141,241 wanted to Remain.
Other contenders, whose policies are seen as closer to Cameron, could include Education Secretary Nicky Morgan and finance minister George Osborne – though his hopes may have been damaged by his close links to the premier.
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Johnson, whose persona as a “buffoon” can charm and repel in equal measure, is at the front of the pack. That’s up to Conservative lawmakers and party members. There was evidence of that hard road on Friday morning.
