Boris Johnson resigned following a mutiny inside his Conservative Party, telling the country in a speech that the process of selecting a new prime minister “should begin immediately.”
“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,” said Johnson
“The process of choosing that new leader should begin now,” he added, saying the timeline will be announced next week.
Johnson, on the other hand, does not want to leave office quickly. In a broadcast statement outside 10 Downing Street, he stated, “I’ve today appointed a cabinet to serve, as I will, until a new leader is in place.”
The appointment of new cabinet ministers ensures that the administration can continue to function while he prepares to leave.
Johnson discussed his efforts to remain as leader and how “difficult” it is for him to leave aside, but he made no mention of the scandals that have proven his political demise.
“In the last few days, I’ve tried to persuade my colleagues that it would be eccentric to change governments when we’re delivering so much… and when the economic scene is so difficult domestically and internationally,” Johnson said.
“I regret not to have been successful in those arguments, and of course, it’s painful, not to be able to see through so many ideas and projects myself,” he said, adding that he’s proud of “getting Brexit done” and “leading the West in standing up to Putin’s aggression in Ukraine.”
Johnson then addressed the audience directly, expressing his regret at leaving down after almost three years in the position.
“To you, the British public: I know that there will be many people who are relieved and, perhaps, quite a few 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.”
Why The Resignation?
Johnson has been embroiled in a series of controversies in recent months, forcing even his staunchest fans to forsake him.
Since Tuesday, nearly 60 members of the government, including five cabinet ministers, have quit, enraged by Johnson’s former deputy chief whip, Chris Pincher, who was accused of molesting two men last week.
Despite an unprecedented flight of middle-ranking ministers quitting the government, a beating at Prime Minister’s Questions, and a brutal appearance before a committee of senior MPs in Parliament, Johnson first sought to ride out the crisis. He reaffirmed on Wednesday that he would not quit.
But Johnson eventually caved Thursday, when some of his most devoted supporters informed him that the game was over.
Johnson’s resignation will be a stunning setback for a Prime Minister who was once regarded as having political superpowers and an appeal that cut across conventional party lines.
In December 2019, he won a landslide win on the promise of securing a Brexit agreement and guiding the UK to a prosperous future outside the European Union. However, his premiership came to an end in the aftermath of the Covid-19 epidemic.
In recent months, the Prime Minister has received widespread criticism for his and certain members of his government’s behaviour, including unlawful, Covid-19 lockdown-breaking parties held in his Downing Street offices, for which he and others were punished.
Several other controversies have also hurt his poll numbers. These include allegations that he improperly used donor money to pay for a restoration of his Downing Street house and directed MPs to vote in a way that would protect a colleague who had violated lobbying laws.
He survived a confidence vote among his own party members last month, but the ultimate figure of his MPs who rebelled against him was more than his supporters expected: 41 percent of his own parliamentary party refused to endorse him.
Late last month, he was dealt another setback when his party lost two parliamentary by-elections in a single night, raising new concerns about his leadership.
His reputation was further harmed when his second ethics adviser resigned in less than two years.
Source: CNN
