The former Foreign Secretarys bid comes just ahead of the crunch vote on Theresa Mays Brexit deal in parliament, which is widely expected to be voted down by a huge margin, putting her under pressure to resign.
Mr Johnson blasted failures in Mrs Mays government, speaking on the BBCs Andrew Marr Show, slamming her Brexit plan for leaving the UK “a diabolical negotiating position” and giving the EU the chance to “blackmail” Britain.
Setting out his alternative vision, he said the UK should not pay the promised £39 billion divorce bill to Brussels until the UK is allowed out of the backstop and a future trade deal is agreed.
“That is the way to put a tiger in the tank,” he said.
LEADER: Boris has long sought the top job as Prime Minister (Pic: GETTY)
EMBATTLED: Mr May is facing opposition on many sides (Pic: GETTY)
The backstop could keep Britain locked to many of the EUs rules indefinitely if a trade deal is not agreed in the “transition period” and the UK would only be allowed to leave with the blocs permission.
Mr Johnson added: “It breaks my heart that after all we have campaigned for that we should consign ourselves to a future in which the EU effectively rules us in many, many respects and yet we have no say round the table in Brussels.”
His intervention comes as friends of the top Brexiteer tell The Times that he expects Mrs May to resign on Wednesday, the day of the “meaningful vote” in parliament.
Meanwhile, Jeremy Hunt, the current foreign secretary, is also reportedly making a pitch for the top job as the man who can deliver a “managed no-deal” exit from the Brussels bloc if Mrs Mays plan fails.
CHALLENGE: Mr Rees-Mogg is demanding a new leader (Pic: GETTY)
He wrote in the Mail on Sunday that “regardless of whether [Mrs May] goes down to a crushing Commons defeat this week or tries to pull the vote – she should stand down.”
“Indeed, the humiliation of avoiding a Commons vote is as much a reason for her departure as defeat in an actual vote,” he continued.
“It is her policy which has failed and for which she is accountable. And it would be much better if she left of her accord rather than face a no-confidence motion.
“The Conservative Party – and the nation – needs a new leader.”
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