British Prime Minister Boris Johnson resigned yesterday, acknowledging that it was “clearly the will” of his party that he should go.
He stepped down immediately as leader of the Conservative Party, but plans to remain as prime minister while a party leadership contest is held.
He said he has appointed a new Cabinet following a multitude of resignations, but many are calling for him to go now.
Photo: Reuters
Johnson led Britain out of the EU and was credited with rolling out one of the world’s most successful mass vaccination campaigns to combat COVID-19.
However, the announcement came after an ethics scandal around Johnson’s leadership led about 50 senior lawmakers to quit the government and left him unable to govern.
Speaking outside No. 10 Downing Street, Johnson said that he was “immensely proud of the achievements of this government,” from Brexit to steering the country through the pandemic, and leading the West in standing up to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.
However, “in politics, no one is remotely indispensable,” he said.
Johnson had clung to power for two days, telling lawmakers on Wednesday that he had a “colossal mandate” from voters and that he intended to get on with the business of government.
He was forced to concede defeat yesterday morning after two more members of his Cabinet quit and one of his closest allies, British Chancellor of the Exchequer Nadhim Zahawi, publicly told him to resign for the good of the UK.
The internal election to pick a new leader of the Conservative Party, who will also be the next prime minister, is likely to take place over the summer.
Zahawi, who was promoted earlier this week as Johnson tried to shore up his Cabinet, said that he and a group of colleagues had privately expressed their concerns to the prime minister on Wednesday and he decided to go public after Johnson ignored the advice to resign.
“I am heartbroken that he hasn’t listened and that he is now undermining the incredible achievements of this government, but the country deserves a government that is not only stable, but which acts with integrity,” Zahawi said in a letter posted on Twitter.
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