On Thursday, Boris Johnson, the British prime minister, will retire from office after being told he was no longer qualified to lead by MPs from his Conservative Party and ministries.
An isolated and helpless Johnson was expected to accept defeat and announce his resignation later on Thursday after ministers, including two secretaries of state, proceeded to leave the cabinet, a source said.
Johnson would make a message to the nation later, according to his Downing Street office.
After battling for his job for days, Johnson had just a small group of supporters left after the most recent in a string of scandals caused them to lose interest in helping him.
The Conservative Party’s deputy chairman, Justin Tomlinson, wrote on Twitter that “his resignation was inevitable.” “We must rapidly come together as a party and concentrate on what is important. There are numerous important issues at hand right now.”
It will now be up to the Conservatives to choose a new leader, a procedure that might take weeks or months. It was unclear if Johnson would or could continue in a caretaker capacity till the new prime minister was selected.
Many believed he ought to step down right away and turn the reins over to Dominic Raab, his deputy.
Conservative parliamentary deputy Nick Gibb stated that the prime minister “must resign his job in addition to resigning as party leader.” He has lost the trust and power necessary to carry on after losing so many ministers.
In the wake of the COVID-19 epidemic, with surging prices and the economy projected to be the weakest among major nations outside of Russia in 2023, Britons are experiencing some of the tightest financial pressure in decades.
It also comes after years of internal strife caused by the close 2016 vote to leave the European Union, as well as challenges to the structure of the United Kingdom itself from calls for a second referendum on Scottish independence in ten years.
Support for Johnson had completely dissipated during the course of one of the most dramatic 24 hours in recent British political history, which was summed up by Finance Minister Nadhim Zahawi, who barely took office on Tuesday and immediately demanded the resignation of his employer.
A senior representative of the legislators not in the government, together with Zahawi and several cabinet ministers had visited Downing Street on Wednesday evening to inform Johnson that the game was over.
At first, Johnson resisted leaving and appeared determined to stick around. In an effort to reassert his authority, he fired Michael Gove, a member of his senior ministerial team who was one of the first to advise him he needed to go.
One ally had warned the Sun tabloid that Johnson’s removal would require party rebels to “dip their hands in blood.”
But by Thursday morning, when a flood of resignations started to come in, it was obvious that his position was hopeless.
Zahawi wrote on Twitter, “This is not sustainable and it will only grow worse: for you, the Conservative Party, and most crucially of all the country.” “You must depart immediately and act morally.”
Defense Minister Ben Wallace and other people who stayed in their positions claimed that they were only doing so because it was their duty to protect the nation.
The administration was in a state of paralysis due to a large number of resignations of ministers, since no one was willing to fill the open positions.
“Making sure the citizens of this nation have a functioning government is our responsibility right now. This is truer than ever right now “Michael Ellis, a minister in the Cabinet Office division that regulates how the government is operated told parliament.
FROM POPULARITY TO NOTORIETY
When the vivacious Johnson assumed office over three years ago, he campaigned on a platform of delivering Brexit and rescuing it from the acrimonious squabbling that followed the 2016 referendum.
Since then, some Conservatives have warmly supported the former journalist and mayor of London, while others have supported him despite their qualms because he was able to win over voters who typically rejected their party.
The election in December 2019 confirmed that. But a number of his MPs lost patience with him due to his administration’s aggressive and frequently chaotic style of governance, and surveys indicate that the general public no longer finds him to be likable.
The current situation started when MP Chris Pincher, who previously served in a pastoral care capacity for the government, was forced to resign due to claims that he had lewdly touched males in a members-only club.
When it was out that Johnson had been informed before appointing Pincher that he had previously faced sexual misconduct allegations, he was forced to issue an apology. According to the prime minister, he had forgotten.
This came after several scandals and gaffes over the preceding months, including a devastating report into drunken gatherings at his Downing Street apartment and office that violated COVID-19 lockdown regulations and led to a police fine for a celebration of his 56th birthday.
As many Britons struggle to cope with rising fuel and food prices, there have also been policy U-turns, a misguided defense of a politician who violated lobbying laws, and allegations that he has not done enough to combat inflation.
Johnson’s departure, according to opposition Labor Party leader Keir Starmer, is wonderful news for the United Kingdom.
But that ought to have happened a long time ago, he added. “He was never a candidate for office. On a massive scale, he has been accountable for deceit, scandal, and fraud.”
