Boris Johnson resign latest: PM quits as Major tells 1922 Committee he must not stay as caretaker

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Who could replace Boris Johnson in the role of prime minister?

John Major has warned the 1922 Committee that Boris Johnson must not be allowed to stay in No 10 as a caretaker prime minister over the summer – after the PM resigned but insisted he would remain until a new leader is decided.

In a dramatic intervention, the Conservative former prime minister echoed the calls of Labor and other Tory MPs in cautioning that leaving Mr Johnson in post would be “unwise” and “unsustainable”, urging the party to either install Dominic Raab as a caretaker or expedite the leadership selection process.

The warning came as Mr Johnson’s historic speech outside Downing Street drew criticism from Tory MPs who labelled it “pretty damn ungracious” and lacking in contrition, after he called it “eccentric” to change leader at this stage and attacked a “herd instinct” at Westminster.

Acknowledging that “in politics, no one is remotely indispensable”, Mr Johnson blamed a “herd instinct” for his arguments to stay in power being rejected, but added: “Them’s the breaks.”

A timetable for the leadership race will be announced next week.

Key PointsShow latest update 1657204004Who turned up to support Boris Johnson as he quit as prime minister?

Boris Johnson’s wife Carrie was among those watching his address outside the famous No 10 black door as the world’s media assembled to hear what he had to say, my colleague Matt Mathers reports.

She was joined by a number of Downing Street aides, staff and loyalist MPs, some of whom supported the PM right to the bitter end.

Nadine Dorries, the ultra loyalist culture secretary, and Ben Elliott, the Tory Party chairman, could be seen chatting with Ms Johnson as the crowd waited for Mr Johnson to appear.

Conor Burns, the Northern Ireland minister and Brendan Clarke-Smith, the red wall MP for Bassetlaw were spotted on the estate. Hardline Brexiteer Peter Bone was also there to watch Mr Johnson bid farewell to the British public.

Who turned up to support Boris Johnson as he quit as prime minister?

PM says he regrets not being able to ‘see through so many ideas and projects’

Andy Gregory7 July 2022 15:26

1657203843Theresa May says new leader must ‘unite the country and Tory party’

Asked if she would be prepared to act as a caretaker PM, Theresa May has said: “I don’t think there’s going to be a caretaker prime minister in the sense of somebody else coming into that role.”

The former prime minister was delivering the James Brokenshire lecture on “public service and restoring faith in politics” at the Institute of Government (IfG) think-tank on Thursday afternoon.

She did not mention Mr Johnson directly in her speech but jokingly congratulated the IfG on the timing of the lecture, given its subject matter, stressing it was the text she would have delivered even without the events of the past few days.

(Institute for Government)

Asked what she would want to see in a new prime minister, she said: “I would want to see somebody who wants to concentrate on healing division, who wants to unite the country and unite the party. This is so important going forward.

“I am concerned when I look at some other countries and the polarisation of politics in the United States, for example. I think that we need to ensure that we avoid going down that very polarized route of politics and society.”

Ms May added: “The key task of somebody coming in as prime minister is going to be dealing with the current situation with the cost-of-living crisis. There are some difficult messages for people there.

“I think it’s important that somebody comes in who is willing to be honest with people about what the issues are and what the potential solutions are, and how we might get to there and the difficulties there will be on the way.”

Andy Gregory7 July 2022 15:24

1657203408 ‘Everybody loves you:’ PM calls Volodymyr Zelensky

Boris Johnson spoke to Ukraine’s president Volodymyr Zelensky “to reiterate the United Kingdom’s steadfast support” as he quit as Tory leader.

“The prime minister highlighted the UK’s unwavering cross-party support for President Zelensky’s people, and said the UK would continue to supply vital defensive aid for as long as needed,” a Downing Street spokesperson said.

Mr Johnson said he would continue to work at pace with partners to try and end the grain blockade in the coming weeks and “thanked President Zelensky for everything he’s doing to stick up for freedom, for his friendship and for the kindness of the Ukrainian people” , the No 10 spokesperson said.

Mr Zelensky thanked the PM “for his determining action on Ukraine, and said the Ukrainian people were grateful for the UK’s efforts”, the spokesperson said, adding: “The prime minister finished the call by praising President Zelensky, saying: ‘You’re a hero, everybody loves you’.”

Andy Gregory7 July 2022 15:16

1657203207Them’s the breaks: Where does the phrase Boris Johnson used in resignation speech come from?

As he delivered his resignation speech in Downing Street, Boris Johnson had a message for the British public.

“I know that there will be many people who are relieved and perhaps quite a few who will also be disappointed,” he said. “And I want you to know how sad I am to be giving up the best job in the world.

“But them’s the breaks.”

‘Them’s the breaks’, says Boris Johnson as he resigns from office

My colleague Jane Dalton takes a look at the origins of the phrase:

Where does ‘Them’s the breaks’ come from?

Idiom that breaches grammatical rules sounds surprising from an Eton-educated former journalist

Andy Gregory7 July 2022 15:13

1657203079Majority of voters think Johnson a ‘poor’ or ‘terrible’ prime minister, snap polling finds

More than a third of minister believe Boris Johnson has been a “terrible” prime – rising to more than half when including those who thought his performance was “poor”, snap YouGov polling suggests.

Just one in 20 people thought Mr Johnson had been a “great” prime minister, with just over one in five having a positive view of his premiership, pollsters found.

Andy Gregory7 July 2022 15:11

1657202852Voters favorite new caretaker over PM remaining in office, snap polling finds

Voters would far prefer to see a new caretaker prime minister than for Boris Johnson to remain in No 10 until a successor is decided, snap polling suggests.

Less than a third of respondents said Mr Johnson should remain in post until the new leader is decided upon – compared with 56 per cent who favored a new caretaker, YouGov polling of 2,062 people found.

Andy Gregory7 July 2022 15:07

1657201353Tory MP refuses to back Major’s warning over Johnson in caretaker role

Tory Robert Largan has declined to back comments from former prime minister Sir John Major (see post below) that it would be “unwise and may be unsustainable” for Boris Johnson to remain in office while a new leader is elected.

“There isn’t really a constitutional mechanism to remove a prime minister, beyond replacing them as leader of the Conservative Party,” the Tory MP told Sky News. “Any decent prime minister would not want to put the Queen into a position where she is dragged into party politics.”

Mr Largan said that instead of a leadership contest should be held “as soon as possible”, with the first round of ballots to be finished by next week and party members given a say on the final two candidates by the middle or end of July.

He also said he backed Tom Tugendhat to be the next leader.

Andy Gregory7 July 2022 14:42

1657201130Boris Johnson must not be allowed to stay as caretaker PM, John Major tells 1922 Committee

Sir John Major has warned that Boris Johnson must not be to stay at No 10 as a caretaker prime over the summer, our political correspondent Adam Forrest reports.

In an extraordinary intervention, the former Tory PM has written to the chair of the 1922 Committee of backbenchers to say it would be “unwise” and “unsustainable” for him to stay on for up to three months.

In his letter to Sir Graham Brady, Sir John: “The proposal for the prime minister to remain in office – for up to three months – having lost the support of his cabinet, his government and his parliament party is unwise, and may be unsustainable.”

He that warned Mr Johnson “maintains the power of patronage and, of even greater concern, the power to make decisions which will affect the lives of those within all four nations of the United Kingdom and further afield.”

Sir John suggested deputy prime minister Dominic Raab could be an acting prime minister until a new leader was elected leader, or suggested that Tory MPs could elect the new who would become PM, with party members then asked to endorse the decision – effectively removing the members ‘ stage of the leadership ballot.

Boris Johnson must not be allowed to stay as caretaker PM, says John Major

‘Unsustainable’ for Johnson to stay over summer, says former Tory PM

Andy Gregory7 July 2022 14:38

1657199848Boris Johnson to chair Cabinet meeting at 3pm

Boris Johnson is to chair a meeting of his new Cabinet at 3pm.

Here is the footage in question:

Conservative MPs sport grim expressions during Cabinet meeting amid Chris Pincher scandal

Andy Gregory7 July 2022 14:17

1657199582New Cabinet minister refuses to rule out running for leadership

Robert Buckland has declined to rule out running to replace Boris Johnson as Tory leader – just hours after he was appointed a Cabinet minister.

In comments reported by the PA news agency, the new Secretary of State for Wales said: “What I’m focusing on is values. I talk a lot about One Nation politics. I’ve always been a one nation Conservative, moderate Conservative.”

Pressed on whether he had leadership ambitions, he said: “I will support a One Nation candidate. I woke up this morning not expecting to be a Cabinet minister, so I’ve learned to expect the unexpected in politics.”

Andy Gregory7 July 2022 14:13

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