Boris Johnson signed-off his final appearance as prime minister in the UK’s House of Commons by offering advice to his successor and declaring his mission is “largely accomplished.”, APA reports citing Bloomberg.
Stay close to the Americans, stick-up for the Ukrainians, cut taxes, deregulate where possible, and “focus on the road ahead, but always remember to check the rear view mirror,” Johnson said.
The remarks were aimed at shaping the thoughts of Rishi Sunak, Penny Mordaunt and Liz Truss as they battle to replace him in the coming weeks as leader of the ruling Conservative Party and of the nation.
While Johnson will stay in post until early September, when his successor will be elected, Wednesday marked the last time he will have to answer questions from members of Parliament as the premier.
His final words -- “hasta la vista, baby” -- were met by a standing ovation from his MPs, many of whom had helped push him into resigning just a few weeks ago.
In his usual flamboyant style, Johnson used the platform to hurl a string of personal insults against Keir Starmer, leader of the opposition Labour Party, calling him “a great pointless human bollard” and “captain hindsight.”
The Conservative leadership contest has at times turned hostile, with candidates criticizing both the government and each other’s policies and management.
Starmer repeated some of those attacks on Wednesday -- from Truss’s claim the ex-Chancellor of the Exchequer would choke growth and lead the country into recession to Sunak’s comments that others plans amount to “fantasy” economics.
Johnson conceded that he’s not closely monitoring the fray.
“I’m not following this thing particularly closely,” he said. But any of them would “wipe the floor” with Starmer, he said, likening the candidates to “household detergent.”
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