British Prime Minister Boris Johnson: The PM had been hanging onto power despite the resignation of a string of his top ministers.UK political crisis live updates: British Prime Minister Boris Johnson Thursday resigned after days of defections plunged the Conservative Party-led government into a deeper political crisis. Addressing the nation, Johnson said he will serve as the PM until a new leader is appointed and added that he was immensely proud of his achievements. The decision to step down comes after one of his closest allies, Treasury Chief Nadhim Zahawi, told the prime minister to resign for the good of the country, AP reported.
Johnson had been hanging onto power despite the resignation of a string of his top ministers. On Wednesday, speaking in Parliament, the embattled PM said his duty was to go on and that he would resign if he felt it was impossible for his government to move forward. Rejecting calls to resign, he argued that he had a mandate from the voters to remain in office.
Months of discontent over Johnson’s judgment and ethics within the governing Conservative Party erupted with the resignations of Treasury chief Rishi Sunak and Health Secretary Sajid Javid within minutes of each other on Tuesday evening. At least 32 British lawmakers including Sunak have left Boris Johnson’s government in less than 24 hours, saying the British leader no longer has their confidence and plunging his government into crisis, news agency Reuters reported.
British Foreign Secretary Liz Truss said on Thursday that Boris Johnson was right to step down as prime minister. "The PM has made the right decision," she said. "We need calmness and unity now and to keep governing while a new leader is found." (Reuters)
Further in his address, Johnson said: "To public, I know there will be many who are relieved," and added, "I am sad to be giving up the best job in the world."
While stating that he will serve until a new leader is in place, Johnson said he will extend all his support to the new PM who will continue to cut burden on families and businesses.
Expressing his regret to not have been successful to stay, Johnson said, 'It is painful not to see my term through.' He further said that 'the herd instinct is powerful and that no one is indispensable in politics.'
Addressing the nation, Boris Johnson said on Thursday he was resigning as Britain's prime minister, bowing to calls from ministerial colleagues and lawmakers in his Conservative Party.
The opposition Labour Party will call a parliamentary no confidence vote in Prime Minister Boris Johnson's government if his Conservative Party don't get rid of him as leader, Labour Party chief Keir Starmer said in a statement on Thursday.
Meanwhile, a full British cabinet team has been appointed, BBC Political Editor Chris Mason said on Twitter, ahead of the expected resignation of Prime Minister Boris Johnson. (Reuters)
British Prime Minister Boris Johnson should be replaced immediately rather than be allowed to remain as a caretaker leader until his successor is found, several Conservative members of parliament said on Thursday.
Five Conservative member of parliament demanded he resign on Thursday and said another minister should take over during a process that could take weeks because he has lost the authority after more than 50 people quit government.
Dominic Raab, the deputy prime minister, would be a suitable replacement, two senior Conservative lawmakers said. "We need to be rid of Boris as soon as possible. He's too toxic. Raab as interim prime minister would be acceptable," one Conservative lawmaker said. (Reuters)
Boris Johnson was due to resign as Britain’s prime minister on Thursday, bringing an end to a turbulent two and half years in office and triggering a search for a new leader.
Below is a summary of some of those who could be in the frame to replace him. However, there is no clear favourite and they are not listed in order of likely prospects.
Liz Truss: The foreign secretary is the darling of the ruling Conservative Party’s grassroots and has regularly topped polls of party members carried out by the website Conservative Home. Truss has a carefully cultivated public image and was photographed in a tank last year, echoing a famous 1986 photo of Britain’s first female prime minister, Margaret Thatcher. Read more to know the others who could possibly replace Johnson as UK PM.
He was the mayor who basked in the glory of hosting the 2012 London Olympics, and the man who led the Conservatives to a thumping election victory on the back of his promise to “get Brexit done.”
But Boris Johnson’s time as prime minister was marred by his handling of the coronavirus pandemic and a steady stream of ethics allegations, from alcohol-fueled government parties that broke lockdown rules to how he handled a sexual misconduct scandal involving a senior party lawmaker. Read more to know the timeline of events relating to Johnson’s political career.
British lawmaker and former business minister Greg Clark is set to be announced as the country's new levelling up secretary, a reporter for the Times newspaper said on Thursday. Another lawmaker, James Cleverly, previously junior minister for Europe and North America, was appointed as education minister, Downing Street said.
Prime Minister Boris Johnson, who is expected to resign, sacked Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities Michael Gove late on Wednesday. (Reuters)
In the latest and potentially fatal blow to the government of Boris Johnson in the UK, two of his most senior ministers, Rishi Sunak and Sajid Javid, resigned within minutes of each other on Tuesday, expressing a lack of confidence in his leadership.
Johnson is facing heat for his shifting claims on Chris Pincher, a lawmaker accused of sexual misconduct. Pincher had to step down as a government whip on July 30 after allegations that he groped two men at a London club in a drunken state.
The latest crisis for Johnson comes just after ‘Partygate’, a no confidence motion he survived, and two bypoll defeats for his party. Read More
Boris Johnson wanted to be like his hero Winston Churchill: a larger-than-life character who led Britain through a time of crisis. He was felled by crises of his own making, as a trickle of ethics allegations became a flood that engulfed his government and turned his own party against him.
Johnson agreed to resign Thursday after the chorus of disapproval from within his own party became too much for him to withstand. The move came after months of scandal that saw Johnson fined by police and criticized by an investigator’s report for allowing rule-breaking parties in his office while Britain was in lockdown during the coronavirus pandemic.
Johnson urged his party and country to “move on” and focus on the U.K.’s struggling economy and the war in Ukraine. But two thumping special election defeats for Johnson's Conservative Party and allegations of sexual misconduct against a senior party official sealed the fate of a politician whose ability to survive scandals was legendary. (AP)
The resignations of Rishi Sunak and Sajid Javid are likely to mark the beginning of the end for Boris Johnson’s premiership. Westminster is agog with speculation as Johnson reels from this latest setback. Summer may have come but the Tory government is not feeling the sunshine. At a time when voters face a cost of living crisis, the need for measured leadership could not be greater. Instead, the chaos unfolding within Downing Street risks becoming a distraction from the larger issues.
Even Johnson’s most ardent supporters will have to concede that his authority has been severely dented. No prime minister can brush aside losing a chancellor and a health secretary in one evening. The resignation letters penned by both men embody a growing unease felt across the country. Sunak noted that the public expected the government to be conducted “properly, competently and seriously”, standards that Johnson had failed to live up to. He also alluded to policy differences with Johnson that became impossible to bridge. Javid felt that the government was no longer seen as “competent in acting in the national interest”. Ultimately, both felt that a change in direction under Johnson was not possible. Read More