Boris Johnson finally agrees to step down as Conservative Party leader after week of political carnage

Boris Johnson resigns as leader of Conservative Party, BBC reports.

The rebellious prime minister is now stepping down after a string of resignations from his government in recent days.

Recently appointed Chancellor Nadhim Zahawi told Boris Johnson this morning: “You must do the right thing and go now” as his refusal to accept that he has lost the confidence of Conservative MPs has sparked another wave of ministerial resignations.

The cabinet minister, who was appointed to the position only this week, tweeted an image of a letter with the caption; Prime Minister: This is not sustainable and it will only get worse: for you, for the Conservative Party and especially for the whole country. You have to do the right thing and go now.”

Meanwhile, Brandon Lewis stepped down from his cabinet post as Secretary of Northern Ireland, telling the British Prime Minister that the government requires “honesty, integrity and mutual respect” and that it is “beyond the point of no return”.

His departure was soon followed by a slew of other ministers as the number of MPs who have left government and party posts since Tuesday night has surpassed 50.

Helen Whately stepped down as Chancellor of the Exchequer, telling Johnson: “I have argued many times over the past few months that you should carry on as prime minister, but there are only so many times when you can apologize and move on. That point has been reached.”

Damian Hinds resigned as Security Secretary, telling Johnson there has been a “severe erosion” in standards of public life and “belief in our democracy and public administration”.

He said on Twitter: “It should not cost the resignation of dozens of colleagues, but for our country and confidence in our democracy we need a change of leadership.”

Science Secretary George Freeman wrote to the Prime Minister to say he no longer has confidence in his leadership.

In his letter of resignation, he told Mr Johnson “the chaos in your cabinet and No. 10 this month is destroying our credibility” and “it can’t go on”.

Guy Opperman left his role as Pensions Minister, telling Johnson that “recent events have clearly shown that the government simply cannot function with you at the helm”.

Technology Minister Chris Phiilp also resigned this morning, saying the prime minister must resign as the confidence of the public and parliament is clearly gone, and given the importance of integrity in public life.

James Cartlidge has also resigned as court minister, telling Boris Johnson: “The position is clearly untenable.”

And education secretary Michelle Donelan has also resigned.

Despite the exodus from his government and a delegation of ministers who have told him to leave on Wednesday, Johnson remains in office.

Due to his refusal to resign, the prime minister faces the prospect of another confidence vote orchestrated by the Tory 1922 committee of backbench MPs.

A new executive will be elected to the committee next Monday and could change leadership rules, allowing for a new confidence vote just a month after the last – which the prime minister is expected to lose given the way MPs have been deserting him since Tuesday. have left.

While Mr Johnson remains in office, the battle for leadership has already begun.

It can also be revealed that the UK whips office has calculated that Mr Johnson would win the support of just 65 Tory MPs in a confidence vote, out of a total of nearly 360.

Attorney General Suella Braverman is still in the role, despite calls on the prime minister to stop and say she will enter the contest to replace him.

Mr Lewis’s departure means four ministers have resigned – Simon Hart resigned as Secretary of Wales on Wednesday evening, while Chancellor Rishi Sunak and Health Minister Sajid Javid resigned on Tuesday, sparking the leadership crisis.

Michael Gove was fired as community secretary, with 10 sources describing him as a “snake” who had briefed on Mr Johnson.

The outright refusal to accept his own ministers’ pleas to quit was a big difference from Margaret Thatcher, who agreed to resign after cabinet pressure in 1990.

The standoff was unlike anything in modern British political history, with Theresa May and Tony Blair agreeing to leave office after mounting criticism within their party over the decades.

Priti Patel, the Home Secretary, Nadhim Zahawi, the Chancellor, and Chris Heaton-Harris, the Chief Whip, were among the cabinet figures who told Mr Johnson he had lost his party’s support. More than half a dozen cabinet members made that argument.

Simon Hart, the secretary of Wales, and Brandon Lewis, the secretary of Northern Ireland, were both ready to resign but were reluctant to confront Mr Johnson. They were both on discharge last night.

In total, 42 Tory MPs have resigned from official positions in the past 48 hours. That included 17 ministers who resigned, 14 yesterday.

Graham Brady, the chairman of the 1922 Committee, told Mr Johnson yesterday that a second vote on his leadership could take place next week, with a new 1922 director to be voted on Monday and free to change leadership rules on Tuesday. modify.

A Johnson ally said: “The Prime Minister has said the choice is not ‘me or me’. Chances are a new Prime Minister and Chancellor will outline a new economic program and a genuine Conservative government.

“The alternative is to push the button for three months of chaos while the party tears itself apart with no mandate. Labor will demand immediate elections, which this party will lose given the ‘coalition of chaos’ between Labor and the SNP and the possible breakup of Britain.”

The source summarized the message to the Tory rebels as: “Stop thinking ‘this is Boris or no Boris’, or ‘turn over Boris and this is all over’. Stick with this Prime Minister and a new Chancellor with a new economic program. That is what is being asked for.”

Not everyone in the cabinet turned against Johnson yesterday. Both Jacob Rees-Mogg, the Brexit minister, and Nadine Dorries, the culture secretary – two of Johnson’s most loyal supporters – rushed to No. 10 to urge him to stay.

Figures close to cabinet ministers Liz Truss and Ben Wallace, who were on the trip, declined to say whether they personally urged Mr Johnson to go.

Mr Zahawi also did not stop last night, despite the Prime Minister’s warning about the dangerous political position. He was back at the Treasury, working with Number 10 on a talk about a “new economic plan,” which includes tax cuts.

Mr Gove has told Mr Johnson to resign. He held a five-minute face-to-face meeting with the prime minister yesterday morning, where he urged him to quit on his own terms before it was too late.

Close to

Boris Johnson’s ally Priti Patel told him it was time to go. Photo: Dominic Lipinskic

Downing Street critics pointed the finger at Mr Gove after four figures from his department resigned yesterday afternoon, fueling calls for Mr Johnson to leave.

An ally of Mr Gove denied he was plotting, saying he would not be “100 percent” a Tory leader if there were a match.

During the day, a succession of ministers and parliamentary private secretaries resigned, many tweeting letters outraged by the prime minister.

Mr Johnson also had to put up with two Tory MPs who called on him to go during the Prime Minister’s questions, before sitting with his arms folded when Sajid Javid, his former health minister who retired on Tuesday, gave a speech in the House of Commons in which he called for cabinet acting.

But during a two-hour whim before the liaison committee, Mr Johnson declared he was having a “great” week and insisted that his administration continue with “ever-increasing energy”.

There were signs last night that the mass resignations were making the government difficult, with planned scrutiny of a piece of legislation canceling MPs because the minister in question had resigned.

If Johnson remains in office early next week, rebels have predicted that the 1922 committee will force a second leadership vote to oust him that way.