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UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson resigned on July 7 after an avalanche of resignations from ministers and lawmakers pressured him to step down. Johnson has been mired in several ethics scandals in recent months, which ultimately undermined his image and cost him his job. A new career is opening within the ruling Conservative Party to replace him as leader of the political movement and the Government.
Boris Johnson’s time is up. Although the politician insisted until the last minute on staying in office, an avalanche of resignations from the heart of his Administration, from high-profile ‘Tories’ and a request from a group of leaders of his party forced him to resign.
“The process of choosing a new leader should start now,” Johnson said in a televised speech from Downing Street.
Johnson initially refused to leave and seemed determined to hold on to his position, but his tenure was untenable. There were 60 resignations among ministers, legislators and members of his party in recent days.
BREAKING: UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson makes statement on resignation: “It is clearly now the will of the parliamentary Conservative Party that there should be a new leader of that party… the process of choosing that new leader should begin now.” https://t.co/yO1wxuYsEc pic.twitter.com/K5jmu2UMMC
— ABC News (@ABC) July 7, 2022
The British press highlights that the premier tried to negotiate an “orderly handover” in which he proposed to resign as party leader and remain prime minister until the party conference, scheduled for next October.
His arguments were aimed at inflicting as little damage as possible on both the party and the country. However, some conservatives insisted that Johnson had to go immediately.
Hours before his formal announcement of resignation, the 58-year-old politician called Queen Elizabeth II to inform her of his intention to leave office.
Johnson is scheduled to be replaced on an interim basis by Deputy Prime Minister Dominic Raab until a new Conservative leader is elected.
With Reuters and local media
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