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(FILES) In this file photo taken on August 31, 2022 Liz Truss, Britain’s Foreign Secretary and a contender to become the country’s next Prime Minister and leader of the Conservative party, answers questions as she takes part in a Conservative Party Hustings event at Wembley Arena, in London. – The UK will learn on September 5, 2022 who will be its next prime minister, with foreign minister Liz Truss expected to be announced winner of a lengthy vote by Conservative Party members. The result will be announced at 12.30 pm (1130 GMT), after foreign minister Truss and her rival, former finance minister Rishi Sunak, spent the summer campaigning. (Photo by Susannah Ireland / AFP)
Boris Johnson on Tuesday promised unswerving support for his successor Liz Truss, as he left Downing Street for the final time as British prime minister to tender his resignation.
Johnson, whose tenure was dominated by Brexit and COVID-19, and cut short by scandal, bid farewell to cheers and applause from supporters before heading for an audience with Queen Elizabeth II.
In a typical rhetorical flourish, he likened himself to “one of those booster rockets that has fulfilled its function,” and would splash down “in a remote and obscure corner of the Pacific”.
But he promised, “I will be supporting Liz Truss and the new government every step of the way.”
He urged his ruling Conservative party to put aside their differences to tackle the energy crisis that looks set to dominate Truss’s immediate future.
“If Dilyn (his dog) and Larry (the Downing Street cat) can put behind them their occasional difficulties then so can the Conservative party,” he added.
Handover
Normally the handover of power in Britain is a swift affair, with the outgoing and incoming leaders making a short trip to Buckingham Palace in central London in quick succession.
But both Johnson and Truss face a 1,000-mile (1,600-kilometre) round trip to the head of state’s remote Balmoral retreat in the Scottish Highlands.
The queen opted not to return from her annual summer break for the brief ceremonial audience, after persistent health issues that have affected her ability to walk and stand.
Johnson is due to arrive at 11:20 am (1020 GMT) at Balmoral, with Truss expected at 12:10 pm, royal officials said.
At the meeting, which should last about 30 minutes, she will ask Truss, as the leader of the largest party in parliament, to form a government.
Truss, 47, was announced winner of an internal vote of Conservative party members on Monday, after a gruelling contest that began in July.
AFP
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