Prime Minister Boris Johnson has agreed to resign, his office told the Associated Press on Thursday, ending an unprecedented political crisis over his future that has roiled the United Kingdom in recent weeks.
It’s not yet clear when Johnson will leave office. An official, who spoke to AP on the condition of anonymity, confirmed the prime minister would announce his resignation later.
Johnson’s departure would end his three-year turn as the British leader. It comes after days of turmoil triggered by his evolving explanations of what he knew about a sexual misconduct scandal involving one of his allies of him. Two of Johnson’s top Cabinet ministers quit earlier this weekfollowed by more than 30 others who said they could no longer serve under his leadership and who urged him to step down.
Johnson’s hold on power has been weakening for months amid a cost-of-living crisis exasperated by Britain’s departure from the European Union, known as “Brexit,” which Johnson championed. Even as he rebuffed calls to quit, his leadership of him was further shaken in recent days by the resignations of his Treasury chief, Rishi Sunak, and his Health Secretary Sajid Javid.
No-confidence vote:Boris Johnson’s brand of colorful politics frays at the edges. But is he out?
Both quit Tuesday saying they could no longer support Johnson because of his handling of ethics scandals, including the case of Chris Pincher, who recently resigned as deputy chief whip amid complaints that he groped two men at a private club.
Their announcements opened the floodgates, and by Thursday, more than 40 ministers had abandoned Johnson.
Nadhim Zahawi resigned just 36 hours after Johnson tapped him to replace Sunak as Treasury chief, while another newly appointed Cabinet minister quit her post.
Zahawi said Johnson knew “the right thing to do” was to “go now.”
What comes next for Britain’s leadership?
British voters elect a party, not a leader. Johnson’s exit will lead to an internal Conservative Party selection process to determine the next prime minister. There are no outright frontrunners to replace Johnson, but early speculation has focused on Sunak as a possible favorite.
It was not immediately clear whether Johnson would stay in office while the Conservative Party chooses a new leader.
No matter who is chosen, the new prime minister is unlikely to have a major impact on Britain’s “special relationship” with the US, its closest ally. The US-UK alliance, which encompasses national security, defense, intelligence sharing, trade and close cultural ties, enjoys bipartisan support. Nor is there likely to be any change to Britain’s support for Ukraine in its unprovoked war with Russia. Apart from the US, Britain has contributed the most heavy weaponry to Ukraine.
Previous coverage: Boris Johnson’s brand of colorful politics frays at the edges. But is he out?
More:What we know about Boris Johnson and Britain’s ‘partygate’ scandal
‘Desperate’ to cling to power?
A group of Johnson’s most trusted Cabinet ministers visited him at his office in Downing Street on Wednesday, telling him to stand down after losing the trust of his party, according to the Associated Press. But Johnson instead opted to fight for his political career and fired one of the Cabinet officials, Michael Gove, British media reported.
It is rare for a prime minister to cling on to office in the face of this much pressure from his Cabinet colleagues. The Guardian’s front page on Thursday called him “Desperate, deluded.”
“He’s breached the trust that was put in him. He needs to recognize that he no longer has the moral authority to lead. And for him, it’s over,” Scottish National Party leader Ian Blackford told The Associated Press.
Who is Boris Johnson?
Johnson, 58, was known for his knack for wiggling out of tight spots. He remained in power despite allegations that he was too close to party donors, that he protected supporters from bullying and corruption allegations, and that he misled Parliament and was dishonest to the public about government office parties that broke pandemic lockdown rules.
A former London mayor with a quirky persona and an unruly mane – who at times has drawn comparisons, not all of them accurate, to former US President Donald Trump –Johnson rose to power in 2019 following a referendum approved by voters three years earlier that called for the UK to leave the European Union.
Johnson, who had been one of the loudest voices behind the so-called Brexit movement, was elevated to prime minister after his predecessor, Theresa May, repeatedly failed to get her Brexit plan through a skeptical Parliament.
Johnson swept into power with a mandate to “get Brexit done.” His victory of him represented the biggest parliamentary majority in the House of Commons since Margaret Thatcher’s election victory in 1987.
But Johnson was seriously wounded by revelations about government employees boozing at No. 10 Downing St. during coronavirus lockdowns. The scandal, which the British media dubbed “Partygate,” helped trigger the no-confidence vote against him in June.
The latest scandal
The latest scandal began June 30, when Pincher resigned, unleashing a series of reports about past allegations leveled against him and questions about why Johnson promoted him to a senior job enforcing party discipline.
Pincher has denied the groping allegations.
Johnson’s office initially said he wasn’t aware of the previous accusations when he promoted Pincher in February. By Monday, a spokesman said Johnson knew of allegations that were “either resolved or did not progress to a formal complaint.”
That explanation angered Simon McDonald, the most senior civil servant at the UK Foreign Office from 2015 to 2020. In a highly unusual move, McDonald went public with claims that Johnson had been briefed about an official investigation servant into the allegations.
McDonald said in a letter to the parliamentary commissioner for standards that he received complaints about Pincher’s behavior in the summer of 2019, shortly after Pincher became a Foreign Office minister. An investigation upheld the complaint, and Pincher apologized for his actions, McDonald said.
“Mr. Johnson was briefed in person about the initiation and outcome of the investigation,” McDonald wrote.
Hours after McDonald’s comments were published, Johnson’s office changed its story again, saying the prime minister had forgotten that Pincher was the subject of an official complaint.
Johnson told reporters that Pincher should have been fired from the government after a previous 2019 incident. Asked if it was an error to appoint Pincher to the government, Johnson said, “I think it was a mistake, and I apologize for it. In hindsight it was the wrong thing to do.”
Sunak and Javid resigned within minutes of each other on July 5.
The two Cabinet heavyweights were responsible for tackling two of the biggest issues facing Britain — the cost-of-living crisis and COVID-19.
Javid captured the mood of many lawmakers when he said Johnson’s actions threaten to undermine the integrity of the Conservative Party and the British government.
“At some point we have to conclude that enough is enough,” he told fellow lawmakers Wednesday. “I believe that point is now.”
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George is Digismak’s reported cum editor with 13 years of experience in Journalism