UK FM Johnson reignites leadership rumors

LONDON – Reuters

British Foreign Secretary Boris Johnson has set out his plans for a “glorious” Brexit, angering colleagues and reigniting speculation he would challenge Prime Minister Theresa May for the leadership of the Conservative party. 

With May due to set out her vision for Brexit in a speech in the Italian city of Florence on Sept. 22, Johnson published a 4,300-word newspaper article on Sept. 16 that roamed well beyond his ministerial brief and, in some cases, went beyond the approach set out by the government. 

Britain, he said, would not pay to access European markets in the future. Once out of the European Union, the country should borrow to invest in infrastructure, reform the tax code and set immigration levels as it sees fit. 

A prominent Brexit campaigner in last year’s referendum, Johnson also repeated the controversial claim that the government would be 350 million pounds ($476 million) better off per week once outside the EU. 

“My friends, I must report that there are at least some people who are woefully underestimating this country,” Johnson wrote in the Daily Telegraph. “They think Brexit isn’t going to happen. 

“I am here to tell you that this country will succeed in our new national enterprise, and will succeed mightily. 

“We have a glorious future.”

With some colleagues angered by the timing - Johnson’s article was published a day after a bomb injured 30 people on a train - he later added on Twitter: “Looking forward to PM’s Florence Speech. All behind Theresa for a glorious Brexit”.

A favorite with grassroots members of the Conservative Party, Johnson had been expected to challenge for the leadership after May gambled away her parliamentary majority in a June election she did not need to call. 

Instead, he publicly pledged his loyalty. 

But the Times newspaper reported earlier this week that Johnson believed he had since been sidelined as May prepares to compromise over a divorce bill with the EU to ease the negotiations.