Boris Johnson resigns as UK prime minister after Conservative Party revolts

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LONDON Boris Johnson stepped down as leader of the Conservative Party on Thursday, making way for a new prime minister, following an avalanche of resignations by members of his party that eroded his authority and paralyzed the British government.

Speaking to a crowd of supporters and onlookers at the lectern outside 10 Downing Street, Johnson said, It is clearly now the will of the parliamentary Conservative Party that there should be a new leader of that party and therefore a new prime minister.

Johnson did not become emotional, nor did he apologize for the behavior that brought the 58-year-old politician to this low point.

Instead, he blamed his party for his downfall, comparing his fellow lawmakers to stampeding animals. As we have seen at Westminster when the herd moves, it moves. And my friends, in politics, no one is remotely indispensable, Johnson said.

Live updates: Boris Johnson expected to resign as UK prime minister

There will be no general election. Instead, the next leader of Britain will be chosen in a vote by due paying members of the Conservative Party, which will remain in power. Johnson said he would serve until a new leader is in place, which could take six weeks or longer. He appointed a new Cabinet of officials to replace all the ministers who had abandoned him.

Johnson paid tribute to his wife, Carrie, who was watching his speech with their young daughter in her arms. Johnson said they had been through so much, but he did not signal any of it was his fault.

I know there are many people who are relieved, and perhaps quite a few who will also be disappointed. I want you to know how sad I am to be giving up the best job in the world. But thems the breaks, Johnson said.

In the end, it wasnt a policy failure that ended his premiership. It wasnt a money scandal involving dodgy deals or crony contracts. It wasn’t really a lack of vision. What did in Johnson was his constant bobbing, weaving and ducking. His dissembling. His prevarications over a series of scandals coronavirus lockdown parties, the refurbishment of his official apartment and the appointment of an ally accused of sexual misconduct.

His fellow Tories expressed no disappointment in Johnson, but disgust.

Enough is enough, said outgoing health minister and leadership contender Sajid Javid. I have concluded that the problem starts at the top and I believe that it is not going to change.

Johnsons Cabinet ministers were sick of being shoved in front of the cameras to tell fibs on morning TV news shows only to find out hours or days later that Johnson and his aides hadnt told them the full truth.

With Johnson there was always another shoe to drop.

Although it is not uncommon in British politics for a prime minister to stay on until the selection of their successor Theresa May remained in place for about two months in 2019 some lawmakers and party grandees warned that Johnson was soiling the party brand and that he was too damaged to stay in office through the summer.

Keir Starmer, leader of the opposition Labor Party, told the BBC that Johnson needs to go completely, none of this nonsense about clinging on.

Dominic Cummings Johnsons former top aide and now chief critic, who helped his boss win the Brexit referendum and get elected warned that the prime minister needed to go now. In a tweet, he urged the Conservative Party to Evict TODAY or hell cause CARNAGE.

Cummings said Johnson even now is playing for time and will try to stay on if hes allowed to remain in office until the fall. He doesn’t think its over, he said, speculating that Johnson is plotting and thinking, I can still get out of this, I got a mandate, members love me, get to September.

In his downfall, some might forget that just a few years ago, Johnson was flying high. A former mayor of London and newspaper columnist, he was the rock star of his party. His speeches at the annual Conservative Party convention were standing room only. People lined up hours beforehand to get in.

His fellow Tories loved him, even if they didnt completely trust him. Yes, he was thrice married, with six or so children he regularly dodged the question. He wasnt a scold, he was a libertarian. He could drink a pint, eat a sausage, tell a joke.

And most importantly, he was election gold, winning the party a record-breaking 80-seat majority in 2019, with talk of a coming Tory Era, with the party and Johnson in power for a decade or more.

And now? Neither the Conservative Party nor the British people know who they will get. Many of the names in the hat are untested on a big stage. They might have baggage. The former finance minister and chancellor Rishi Sunak was hailed as a likely successor a few months ago. Until it was revealed that his billionaire wife didnt pay full taxes in Britain. When former foreign minister Jeremy Hunt ran against Johnson for party leadership in 2019, his fellow Conservatives liked him, thought him competent. They clapped politely. But for Johnson they roared.

As the world watched the Johnson fold and the British government unravel on Thursday, Defense Secretary Ben Wallace felt it necessary to assure Britons that they were being protected. Wallace tweeted: A number National Security Ministers are directly involved in authorizing, on a daily basis, operations to defend the UK & its citizens.

Wallace himself a favorite among Conservatives as the next prime minister added that a number of us have an obligation to keep this country safe, no matter who is PM.

Johnson is hardly the first Conservative leader to have been shoved aside by his party, which is famous for ditching his leaders quickly when they are no longer assets. Even Winston Churchill resigned after being given a gentle push as his health declined in his later years.

Johnsons predecessor, May, was forced out after she was unable to get her Brexit deal through Parliament following opposition within her party, including from Johnson. May managed just over three years in office Johnson has ruled for just under three years.

Johnson woke up Thursday morning in Downing Street, his office and residence, to another wave of resignations by government officials and party members declaring that the embattled prime minister must step down immediately for the sake not only of his Conservative Party but for the country.

Before the breakfast shows on television were over, there were 53 resignations, including four Cabinet ministers in just two days. Many of the letters included brutal assessments of Johnsons tenure and critiques of his honesty. Some pleaded with him to go.

Nadhim Zahawi, who on Tuesday was appointed chancellor, the second-most important job in government, turned on Johnson on Thursday and told him to step down. He tweeted: Prime Minister: this is not sustainable and it will only get worse: for you, for the Conservative Party and most importantly of all the country. You must do the right thing and go now.

Johnson had resisted pressure to resign, saying that he had a 14-million-vote mandate from the British people who cast their ballots for him and his party in the last general election, in 2019.

But his authority has evaporated over a period of 48 hours, with longtime colleagues and allies telling him to go resignations seemed to be landing every few minutes.

There were so many that it became unclear whether Johnson and his aides could fill the spots quickly enough to keep the government going. Ministers in charge of security, the courts, technology, education, finance, Northern Ireland and science all left their jobs.

How did Johnson get to this point?

Northern Ireland Secretary Brandon Lewis was among those who resigned from his position in the Cabinet on Thursday morning. He said that the British government requires honesty, integrity and mutual respect and that it is now past the point of no return.

Damian Hinds, the departing security minister, told Johnson that he shouldn’t take the resignation of dozens of colleagues, but for our country, and trust in our democracy, we must have a change of leadership.

Analysis: The cringe of Boris Johnson

Some began to make comparisons to form US president Donald Trumps attempt to cling to power. Bernard Jenkin, a Conservative lawmaker and chair of the powerful Liaison Committee, told the national broadcaster that Johnson can go with some dignity or he can be forced out like Donald Trump, clinging to power and pretending hes won the election when hes lost.

The race to succeed Johnson started Thursday, with Conservative Party members throwing their names into the hat even before he had made a statement to the nation about his future. On Thursday morning, Suella Braverman, who serves in Johnsons cabinet as the attorney general, said she would be running in the contest.

Any member of Parliament for the Conservative party can put themselves forward for the role provided they receive nominations from at least two colleagues. The party holds several rounds of secret-ballot votes to whittle down the field, eliminating the person with the fewest votes each time. The final two candidates are then put before the grass-roots members of the party, a group of about 200,000. They then select the winner.

A poll by YouGov on Thursday found that along with Wallace and Sunak, top contenders included Trade Minister Penny Mordaunt and Foreign Secretary Liz Truss.

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