Why did Boris Johnson quit the Tory leadership contest? Was it GREED?
Boris Johnson and money: did you think you would ever see this image again?
It seems Boris Johnson may not have pulled out of the Tory leadership race for the reasons he stated at the time, but because of selfishness.
“I have sadly come to the conclusion that this would simply not be the right thing to do,” he said at the time.
“You can’t govern effectively unless you have a united party in parliament.”
He was saying that he hoped the successful candidate would be able to unite the Conservative Party in a way that he – as a polarising figure – couldn’t.
But now members of the entertainment industry, of all places, have suggested that Johnson withdrew because he realised he could make much more money away from government than in it.
Since he resigned in July, Johnson is known to have been in talks with entertainment and talent agencies including Endeavour, run by US businessman Ari Emanuel, and the Harry Walker Agency (HWA), one of its subsidiaries.
His earning potential is suggested to be about £20 million per year – but only if he didn’t lose in a leadership election against Rishi Sunak. If that happened, his appeal to global audiences would disappear – cutting his earning potential by at least half, according to the talent industry.
A spokesman for Johnson has said that financial reasons were “totally irrelevant” to his decision. He would, wouldn’t he?
We may never know the full story. But with Johnson being such a flagrant self-publicist (why is he at COP 27, anyway?) it’s not beyond possibility that money might have played some part in his decision.
Source: Boris Johnson ‘quit PM race over risk to £10m earnings’, sources say
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Yesterday, a report in the Observer said something similar.
It did not report on how reliable the advice was that was given to Johnson.