Boris Johnson says he will not endorse any of the candidates running to replace him as Prime Minister.
Speaking for the first time since he announced his resignation last week, Johnson said his successor should continue his own “great agenda”.
Eleven candidates have come forward in the race for leadership so far. Most of them are currently ministers in Johnson’s government.
Speaking to journalists at the Francis Crick Institute, a biomedical research facility in central London, Boris Johnson said it was “not the job of the prime minister at this stage” to give their opinion on the successor.
“The job of the prime minister at this stage is to let the party decide, let them get on with it and to continue delivering on the projects that we were elected to deliver,” Johnson said.
“I know that whatever happens and whoever takes over, there is a great, great agenda to be continued.”
During the same speech, Johnson said he intended to fulfil his mandate before leaving his post as prime minister. He promised to spend his final weeks in Downing Street delivering “the programme we were elected on” in the Conservatives’ landslide general victory of 2019.
“I’m determined to get on and deliver the mandate that was given to us, but my job is really just to oversee the process in the next few weeks, and I’m sure that the outcome will be good”.
Stressing the importance of moving forward and getting things done, Johnson added that “the less we talk about politics in Westminster, the generally happier we will all be.”
He repeated, “’I just have to get on”.
