Zahawi backs ‘Boris 2.0’ weeks after telling him to ‘go now’ – who else has changed their mind?
Former chancellor Nadhim Zahawi has said he is backing Boris Johnson to return as prime minister despite having previously called for him to resign in the summer.
“I’m backing Boris. He got the big calls right, whether it was ordering more vaccines ahead of more waves of Covid, arming Ukraine early against the advice of some, or stepping down for the sake of unity,” Mr Zahawi tweeted. “But now, Britain needs him back. We need to unite to deliver on our manifesto.”
He added: “When I was chancellor, I saw a preview of what Boris 2.0 would look like. He was contrite & honest about his mistakes. He’d learned from those mistakes how he could run No10 & the country better. With a unified team behind him, he is the one to lead us to victory & prosperity.”
But less than two days after Mr Johnson made Mr Zahawi his chancellor, he called on the prime minister to resign, telling him: “Prime Minister: this is not sustainable and it will only get worse: for you, for the Conservative party and most importantly of all the country. You must do the right thing and go now.”
Mr Zahawi joins a list of MPs who appear to have changed their mind on Mr Johnson since his resignation.
Sunak leads leadership race as Johnson returns to UK – politics latest
Priti Patel, the former home secretary, has said she will back him, but in July Ms Patel told Mr Johnson he had lost the support of the Tory party and should not go on.
Chris Heaton-Harris, the Northern Ireland secretary, who has tweeted his support for Mr Johnson, is also reported to have been present at the meeting.
Simon Clarke, the levelling up secretary, also declared he wants Mr Johnson to replace Ms Truss, despite previously saying his resignation as prime minister was the “right decision”.
Penny Mordaunt, the leader of the Commons, formally announced her bid on Friday afternoon.
Amanda Milling, MP for Cannock Chase, also tweeted her support for Mr Johnson, saying he has a “proven track record of delivery for the British people”. But when he resigned Ms Milling said it was the right move “as the damage to our party and country was getting too much”.
Similarly, Shaun Bailey, MP for West Bromwich West, tweeted it was “time to #BringBackBoris”, but had said he could no longer support him when he was prime minister and called for “fresh leadership”.
Anthony Higginbotham has also come out for Mr Johnson, but had previously urged him to resign, saying: “Loyalty matters. But as the Member of Parliament for Burnley my first loyalty is, and always will be, to the public. It’s for that reason that I can no longer in good conscience continue supporting the current leader of my party.”
John Whittingdale, MP for Maldon, who has indicated he would back Mr Johnson, previously said there was “absolutely no alternative” to him resigning as prime minister and said it was clear he “simply couldn’t continue”.
The expected timeline of events in electing a new PM
Jonathan Gullis, who resigned his role as parliamentary private secretary to the Northern Ireland secretary, has also indicated he will support Mr Johnson. The MP for Stoke-on-Trent North reportedly said he had lots of people from across his constituency telling him to “bring back Boris”.
Karl McCartney, the MP for Lincoln, backed Mr Johnson’s return but before his resignation said: “It has become clear to the prime minister, Boris Johnson MP, that he no longer has the confidence of a growing number of his colleagues in the Conservative Parliamentary Party.
“Therefore, the time has come for the prime minister to take the decision to resign and allow the Conservative Party the opportunity to select and elect a new leader.”
Lee Anderson has also performed somewhat of an about-turn by saying he would back Mr Johnson in the leadership race. The MP for Ashfield previously withdrew his support for the prime minister and said “integrity should always come first and sadly this has not been the case over the past few days”.
Dr Caroline Johnson, MP for Sleaford, previously resigned as Tory party vice chair, saying Mr Johnson’s “errors of judgement and domestic actions” had “squandered the goodwill of the party”. At the time she said he would “only damage our party and therefore our country” if he stayed on as prime minister, but she has since said she is backing Mr Johnson’s return.
Though he is yet to formally declare he will run, Mr Johnson has the public support of several cabinet ministers and about 60 MPs.
Mr Johnson returned to the UK on Saturday morning from the Dominican Republic, where he was said to be “taking soundings” about a potential return to No 10 after Ms Truss’s dramatic resignation on Thursday.
He is likely to be opposed by his former chancellor Rishi Sunak, whose resignation was key in forcing Mr Johnson’s departure from Downing Street in the summer.
On Monday Tory MPs will vote on which two candidates should be put forward to the party membership. Candidates have until 2pm to secure 100 nominations.
The membership will then vote on who should become leader of the party and the prime minister, with the result announced on Friday.
World
Stock markets slump for second day running after Trump announces tariffs – in worst day for indexes since COVID
Worldwide stock markets have plummeted for the second day running as the fallout from Donald Trump’s global tariffs continues.
While European and Asian markets suffered notable falls, American indexes were the worst hit, with Wall Street closing to a sea of red on Friday following Thursday’s rout – the worst day in US markets since the COVID-19 pandemic.
As it happened: Worst week’s trading in five years
All three of the US’s major indexes were down by more than 5% at market close; The Dow Jones Industrial Average plummeted 5.5%, the S&P 500 was 5.97% lower, and the Nasdaq Composite slipped 5.82%.
The Nasdaq was also 22% below its record-high set in December, which indicates a bear market.
Read more: What’s a bear market?
Ever since the US president announced the tariffs on Wednesday evening, analysts estimate that around $4.9trn (£3.8trn) has been wiped off the value of the global stock market.
Mr Trump has remained unapologetic as the markets struggle, posting in all-caps on Truth Social before the markets closed that “only the weak will fail”.
The UK’s leading stock market, the FTSE 100, also suffered its worst daily drop in more than five years, closing 4.95% down, a level not seen since March 2020.
And the Japanese exchange Nikkei 225 dropped by 2.75% at end of trading, down 20% from its recent peak in July last year.
US indexes had the worst day of trading since the COVID-19 pandemic. Pic: Reuters
Trump holds trade deal talks – reports
It comes as a source told CNN that Mr Trump has been in discussions with Vietnamese, Indian and Israeli representatives to negotiate bespoke trade deals that could alleviate proposed tariffs on those countries before a deadline next week.
The source told the US broadcaster the talks were being held in advance of the reciprocal levies going into effect next week.
Vietnam faced one of the highest reciprocal tariffs announced by the US president this week, with 46% rates on imports. Israeli imports face a 17% rate, and Indian goods will be subject to 26% tariffs.
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Do Trump’s tariffs add up?
Read more:
Markets gave Trump a clear no-confidence vote
There were no winners from Trump’s tariff gameshow
China – hit with 34% tariffs on imported goods – has also announced it will issue its own levy of the same rate on US imports.
Mr Trump said China “played it wrong” and “panicked – the one thing they cannot afford to do” in another all-caps Truth Social post earlier on Friday.
Later, on Air Force One, the US president told reporters that “the beauty” of the tariffs is that they allow for negotiations, referencing talks with Chinese company ByteDance on the sale of social media app TikTok.
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Tariffs: Xi hits back at Trump
He said: “We have a situation with TikTok where China will probably say, ‘We’ll approve a deal, but will you do something on the tariffs?’
“The tariffs give us great power to negotiate. They always have.”
World
Financial markets were always going to respond to Trump tariffs but they’re also battling with another problem
South Korea’s constitutional court has confirmed the dismissal of President Yoon Suk Yeol, who was impeached in December after declaring martial law.
His decision to send troops onto the streets led to the country’s worst political crisis in decades.
The court ruled to uphold the impeachment saying the conservative leader “violated his duty as commander-in-chief by mobilising troops” when he declared martial law.
The president was also said to have taken actions “beyond the powers provided in the constitution”.
Demonstrators stayed overnight near the constitutional court. Pic: AP
Supporters and opponents of the president gathered in their thousands in central Seoul as they awaited the ruling.
The 64-year-old shocked MPs, the public and international allies in early December when he declared martial law, meaning all existing laws regarding civilians were suspended in place of military law.
Read more from Sky News:
Highs and lows of Five-Year Keir
MP tells Sky News she was targeted online by Tate brothers
The court was under heavy police security guard ahead of the announcement. Pic: AP
After suddenly declaring martial law, Mr Yoon sent hundreds of soldiers and police officers to the National Assembly.
He has argued that he sought to maintain order, but some senior military and police officers sent there have told hearings and investigators that Mr Yoon ordered them to drag out politicians to prevent an assembly vote on his decree.
His presidential powers were suspended when the opposition-dominated assembly voted to impeach him on 14 December, accusing him of rebellion.
The unanimous verdict to uphold parliament’s impeachment and remove Mr Yoon from office required the support of at least six of the court’s eight justices.
South Korea must hold a national election within two months to find a new leader.
Lee Jae-myung, leader of the main liberal opposition Democratic Party, is the early favourite to become the country’s next president, according to surveys.
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