Boris Johnson

The scandal-plagued British prime minister never secured total control over his party. President Donald Trump sits next to British Prime Minister Boris ...

Some think he will try to make a series of announcements to regain popularity in the delusional hope of turning things around. (Of course, even a written constitution is not enough to constrain a U.S. president rampaging through norms if he wants to.) So there remains a risk he will try to exploit the lack of rules to his benefit. The race to succeed Johnson is wide open, with the party’s MPs divided between those who want a more traditional candidate — fiscally conservative, hawkish on foreign policy, and socially liberal — and those who want a populist choice to appeal to the more authoritarian voters who switched to them over Brexit. The current favorite is Ben Wallace, the Defence secretary widely seen as having done well over Ukraine, and a potential party unifier. With the next general election less than two years way, they will have little time to clean up the mess. Eventually 60 members of the government resigned before he could be brought to accept the inevitable, including some cabinet ministers he’d appointed to replace those who’d left in the first wave of resignations. Then his inability to tell the truth led to a string of scandals, most notably over parties held at his residence in Downing Street, while the rest of the country was in Covid lockdown. And here is where Johnson’s fate took a turn, and why he was more vulnerable to a mutiny from his party than another scandal-prone leader, Donald Trump. The differences in presidential and parliamentary systems are obviously a major reason. For instance, some MPs still think he may try to call a general election, even though the party doesn’t want one. By February, it looked as if Johnson was done, but the war in Ukraine intervened and politics, briefly, took a back seat. But he was the only Member of Parliament (MP) who had both campaigned for Brexit and was reasonably popular with potential Conservative voters. In the U.S., other identities — including racial and religious ones — have aligned with party affiliation creating a powerful driver of polarization. The hope was that he would accept being a charismatic frontman while some sensible grown-ups made the decisions.

Key ministers Sunak and Javid resign after row over prime minister's honesty.

PM forgot he had been told about investigation that upheld complaint about Pincher's behaviour, minister says.

“At the time, last week, that was the prime minister’s view,” he said. Describing the 2019 investigation, Ellis said: “The exercise established that while the minister meant no harm, what had occurred caused a high level of discomfort. It is not my understanding that he was directly briefed.” “This information does take time to establish.” He said Johnson was briefed in late 2019 about the complaint about Pincher’s behaviour at the Foreign Office. “Last week, when fresh allegations arose, the prime minister did not immediately recall the conversation in late 2019 about this incident. Ellis said: “The prime minister was made aware of this issue in late 2019.

Boris Johnson was told of a complaint against Conservative MP Chris Pincher two years before promoting him, a minister said, in a major concession from the ...

British Prime Minister Boris Johnson on Tuesday apologised and said he had made a mistake by not realising that former whip Chris Pincher was unsuitable for ...

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UK prime minister's story kept changing. Now he's lost his Chancellor and Health Secretary.

And I have been given a categorical assurance that the prime minister was not aware of any specific allegation or complaint made against the former deputy chief whip.” July 5: 7 a.m. Deputy Prime Minister Dominic Raab, on a media round, confirms Pincher was investigated over alleged inappropriate behavior while he was a minister at the Foreign Office, but says this did not result in disciplinary action. Simultaneously in the House of Commons, Paymaster General Michael Ellis tells MPs the PM had been told, but “did not immediately recall the conversation.” 6:11 p.m.: Rishi Sunak quits, writing on Twitter: “The public rightly expect government to be conducted properly, competently and seriously. “It is clear to me that this situation will not change under your leadership – and you have therefore lost my confidence too.” Late in 2019: Johnson is made aware of the complaint upheld against Pincher by Foreign Office officials following the investigation. Pincher denies the allegations and a party investigation later clears him of wrongdoing. June 30: Pincher resigns saying he “embarrassed himself” after drinking far too much. I don’t believe he was aware.” Despite this knowledge, the prime minister appointed him to be deputy chief whip, a role which – ironically – involves enforcing party discipline. Summer of 2019: Officials complain to chief diplomat Simon McDonald about Pincher’s behavior. The allegations are described by McDonald as “similar” to allegations of his conduct at the Carlton Club last week.

The two ministers resigned after a day in which the prime minister acknowledged he had changed his story on how he handled sexual misconduct allegations ...

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Last month Mr Johnson survived a no-confidence vote by Tory MPs on his leadership. Chancellor of the Exchequer Rishi Sunak and Health Secretary Sajid Javid ...

The resignations of Mr Javid and Mr Sunak, two of the government's most senior cabinet ministers, came just a month after Mr Johnson survived a confidence vote by Conservative MPs in the wake of the "partygate" scandal. He thanked Mr Sunak for his "outstanding service to the country through the most challenging period for our economy in peacetime history" and said he was looking forward to Mr Javid's "contribution from the backbenches". In separate letters to Mr Sunak and Mr Javid, the Prime Minister said he would miss working with them. Mr Javid said many MPs and the public had lost confidence in Mr Johnson's ability to govern in the national interest. Mr Sunak, who had reportedly clashed with the prime minister in private about spending, said: "For me to step down as Chancellor while the world is suffering the economic consequences of the pandemic, the war in Ukraine and other serious challenges is a decision that I have not taken lightly." Chancellor of the Exchequer Rishi Sunak and Health Secretary Sajid Javid announced their decisions as Mr Johnson was apologising for appointing a former minister to a job in government despite knowing there was a sexual misconduct complaint against him.

Downing Street was forced to admit that Boris Johnson was briefed in 2019 on allegations against disgraced Tory MP Chris Pincher but said he had forgotten ...

UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson was fighting for his political survival after finance minister Rishi Sunak and another senior minister abruptly resigned.

It's disrespectful to his colleagues, his party and his country." "The public rightly expect government to be conducted properly, competently and seriously," he added. "He's finished," said one previously loyal Conservative lawmaker on condition of anonymity. For many in the governing party, another allegation of lying and the explanation of a loss of memory only heightened their frustration with the Johnson administration, which some lawmakers say is paralysed by having to deal with scandals. Sunak, who had reportedly clashed with the prime minister in private about spending, said: "For me to step down as Chancellor (of the Exchequer) while the world is suffering the economic consequences of the pandemic, the war in Ukraine and other serious challenges is a decision that I have not taken lightly." The resignations came as Johnson was apologising for what he said was a mistake for not realising that a former minister in charge of pastoral care was unsuitable for a job in government after complaints of sexual misconduct were made against him, the latest embarrassment to have engulfed Johnson's government.

The resignations of Rishi Sunak and Sajid Javid could finally topple the UK PM's leadership after myriad scandals and claims of unethical behaviour.

Treasury chief Rishi Sunak and Health Secretary Sajid Javid resigned within minutes of each other after a day in which the prime minister was forced to ...

“Mr. Johnson has for three days now been sending ministers - in one case a Cabinet minister - out to defend the indefensible, effectively to lie on his behalf. In hindsight it was the wrong thing to do.” An investigation upheld the complaint, and Pincher apologised for his actions, McDonald said. But until Tuesday his Cabinet had largely stayed put and loyal. That account didn’t sit well with Simon McDonald, the most senior civil servant at the U.K. Foreign Office from 2015 to 2020. “The public rightly expect government to be conducted properly, competently and seriously,” Sunak said. The latest scandal began Thursday, when Chris Pincher resigned as deputy chief whip amid complaints that he groped two men at a private club. Johnson’s authority had already been shaken by last month’s confidence vote. “I regret to say, however, that it is clear this situation will not change under your leadership - and you have therefore lost my confidence too.” Asked if it was an error to appoint Pincher to the government, Johnson said, “I think it was a mistake, and I apologise for it. McDonald said in a letter to the parliamentary commissioner for standards that he received complaints about Pincher’s behaviour in the summer of 2019, shortly after Pincher became a Foreign Office minister. 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.”

British Prime Minister Boris Johnson was dealt a huge blow on Tuesday when two of his top ministers announced their resignations, saying they could no ...

Javid added that the vote of confidence in the prime minister last month "was a moment for humility, grip and new direction." Johnson has faced numerous other scandals that have hit his standing in the polls -- despite his 80-seat landslide victory just two-and-a-half years ago. Backing him when he mocked the sacrifices of the British people," the Labour Party leader said in a statement released after the two resignations. "In preparation for our proposed joint speech on the economy next week, it has become clear to me that our approaches are fundamentally too different," Sunak added in the letter. The most immediate controversy facing Johnson is Downing Street's handling of last week's resignation of deputy chief whip Chris Pincher, who stepped down from his post last Thursday amid allegations he had groped two guests at a private dinner the night before. "The public rightly expect government to be conducted properly, competently and seriously," Sunak said in his resignation letter.

British Prime Minister Boris Johnson is clinging to power after two of his most senior Cabinet ministers quit, saying they had lost confidence in Johnson's ...

LONDON — Boris Johnson isn't going anywhere — at least not for now. Despite losing his Chancellor Rishi Sunak and Health Secretary Sajid Javid within ...

The prime minister could count on the public backing of a handful of his most loyal allies. When the program host reminded Afolami that he is a government minister, he responded that he is “probably not after having said that” and confirmed he is planning to quit. All signs Tuesday were that the prime minister was staying put, with a defiant reshuffle of his top team designed to shore up his position. The prime minister also appeared to be bleeding support from Conservative party members and voters. Johnson narrowly survived a vote of confidence in his leadership in June and under current Conservative Party rules, he is immune from another challenge until 12 months have passed. The turbulence marks an escalation of a crisis that has engulfed Johnson’s government for months.

To lose one Cabinet minister may be seen as a misfortune, but to lose two looks like carelessness. That's what British Prime Minister Boris Johnson faces ...

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After limping along in the wake of the Partygate investigation, multiple sex scandals and successive policy failures, Boris Johnson is approaching the endgame ...

Declaring … I’m now free to cut taxes”. The headline: “Boris fights on! Its headline is: “Johnson hanging by a thread as Sunak and Javid walk out” and publishes prominently scathing quotes from their resignation letters.

Treasury chief Rishi Sunak and Health Secretary Sajid Javid resigned within minutes of each other after a day in which the Prime Minister was forced to ...

"Mr Johnson has for three days now been sending ministers — in one case a Cabinet minister — out to defend the indefensible, effectively to lie on his behalf. "Mr Johnson was briefed in person about the initiation and outcome of the investigation. In the next few weeks, Conservative lawmakers will elect new members to the committee that sets parliamentary rules for the party. "[The confidence vote] was a moment for humility, grip and new direction. Ministers initially said Johnson wasn't aware of any allegations when he promoted Pincher to the post in February. An investigation upheld the complaint, and Pincher apologised for his actions, McDonald said. Several candidates have suggested they would support changing the rules to allow for another vote of no confidence. That account didn't sit well with Simon McDonald, the most senior civil servant at the UK Foreign Office from 2015 to 2020. In hindsight it was the wrong thing to do. Sunak and Javid have been seen as possible leadership contenders within the Conservative Party if Johnson is forced out. "I apologise to everybody who has been badly affected by it. He survived, but 41 per cent of Conservatives voted to remove him from office.

LONDON — Boris Johnson is digging in as U.K. prime minister, after the resignation of two of the most senior members of his government brought his ...

Six years since he successfully urged Britons to voted to leave the European Union, the economic arguments for doing so have failed to bear fruit. After narrowly failing to oust Johnson in a confidence vote last month, Tory rebels had been calling on senior cabinet ministers to take matters into their own hands. “In hindsight it was the wrong thing to do. For many rebels, the rot started when Johnson launched an ultimately botched effort to save a Tory colleague found to have broken Parliament ethics rules. “The public rightly expect government to be conducted properly, competently and seriously,” Sunak wrote in his resignation letter. He and his office haven’t replied to repeated requests for comment.

British Prime Minister Boris Johnson will face questions in parliament followed by a grilling by senior lawmakers on Wednesday, with his premiership on the ...

Rishi Sunak and Sajid Javid led succession of resignations after PM admitted making 'mistake' over appointment of Chris Pincher.

The resignations of Javid and Sunak, both considered potential future leadership contenders, come at a moment of significant danger for the prime minister. The first thing we’ve got to do is make sure we’re really careful, whether that’s public sector pay, that we don’t deepen inflation.” Johnson attempted to recover his authority by swiftly appointing Nadhim Zahawi as his chancellor and Steve Barclay as health secretary. Neither explicitly mentioned the sexual misconduct and Partygate scandals that have dogged the government for months. He’s then asked about the possibility of raising corporation tax. The whole rotten lot need to go.” Responding to the resignations last night, Labour leaderSir Keir Starmer said: “If they [ministers] had a shred of integrity they would have gone months ago. Echoing Starmer’s comments from last night, she says: “This is [about] much more than changing the person at the top of the Conservative party. And I, personally, just couldn’t think I could defend that sort of behaviour any longer. Next, Zahawi is pressed on teachers’ pay, energy prices and tax cuts. That means we’re the mainstream ... About a month ago we had the no confidence vote.

Already beset by various scandals and electoral setbacks, Prime Minister Boris Johnson suffered even greater body blows on Tuesday with the resignation of both ...

The most compelling strength of the UK economy is employment. It’s not peaches and cream by any stretch but all the main parts of the economy are in reasonable shape when you consider the whole world shut down and then dramatically restarted. The banking sector has been at pains — under the steely eye of the Prudential Regulation Authority — not to leave itself exposed to potential non-performing loans. What matters is that the Bank of England has renewed confidence to continue its rate-hiking cycle to combat inflation. That potential fiscal splurge is hard to model into economic estimates, so be careful when listening to some of the more apocalyptic forecasts. Britain certainly feels fragile at the moment with runaway inflation, war in Ukraine and all manner of local difficulties plaguing the UK body politic.

UK's Boris Johnson fights for his political survival after top resignations and scandals · U.K. · British Finance Minister Rishi Sunak and Health Secretary Sajid ...

Only a real change of government can give Britain the fresh start it needs." It has since emerged that Johnson appointed him to the role despite knowing of previous misconduct allegations against him. As a number of senior Tories called for Johnson to quit, the government's former Brexit negotiator David Frost also joined the fray, calling on the prime minister to step down without delay. As he faced such a vote only last month, a new challenge would require a rule change to allow another vote within the next 12 months. - But despite calls to resign, the prime minister shows no signs of being ready to stand down. Health Secretary Sajid Javid, likewise, resigned in protest against Johnson's leadership, which has been beset by controversy and scandal in recent months.

UK government is on the brink after the latest scandal to have hit the Conservative prime minister's administration.

- A number of Conservative MPs have expressed their unwavering loyalty to Johnson. “I fully support the prime minister,” Scottish Secretary Alister Jack said. - Pincher had resigned on June 30 as deputy chief whip of the Conservative Party amid complaints that he had allegedly groped two men at a private club. Economists say the country is now heading for a sharp slowdown or possibly a recession. - The resignations of Chancellor Rishi Sunak and Health Secretary Sajid Javid came as Johnson was apologising for appointing MP Christopher Pincher to a role involved in offering pastoral care to his party, even after being briefed that the politician had been the subject of complaints about sexual misconduct. Johnson’s finance and health secretaries quit on Tuesday, saying he was not fit to govern in the wake of the latest in a series of scandals to have hit his administration in recent months. A growing number of lawmakers in his ruling Conservative Party have said time is up, but Johnson has shown a resolve to remain in office and swiftly moved to reshuffle his cabinet.

Showy appearances at the G7 and Nato can't disguise the hollow truth of the PM's foreign policy: Brexit has failed, says Guardian columnist Rafael Behr.

A project of democratic solidarity among nations is not the mainstream definition of Europe in this country, but nor is it completely alien to the British imagination. It is the habit, acquired over many decades, of using the word Europe to mean “them” and never “us”. The Labour plan is to win an election on domestic issues, and only then, with the levers of office securely in hand, change course on Europe. Noisily advertising the second stage of that ambition risks jeopardising the first stage. The mood was captured in a joint article published last week by the German and Irish foreign ministers on the topic of Johnson’s plan to override the Northern Ireland protocol of the Brexit agreement. There is truth enough in that analysis to get by from one week to the next, which is now the ceiling of Johnson’s governing ambition. The economic damage inflicted by withdrawal from the EU single market is only half of that failure.

Britain's Prime Minister Boris Johnson on June 24, 2022. (CNN) Boris Johnson's Conservative government is in deep crisis, engulfed once more in a ...

The government's poor handling of Pincher's resignation means the scandal is now tied to Johnson personally. "The biggest threat to this government is its own staggering incompetence," said one senior government official. While he did not admit the allegations directly, Pincher said in a letter to Johnson The details of how Downing Street got itself into such a mess bear laying out. But that was overtaken within minutes by the resignation of the two Cabinet members. Finance minister Rishi Sunak also resigned, saying that people "rightly expect government to be conducted properly, competently and seriously."

The prime minister's sense of entitlement will mean he has to be dragged kicking and screaming from Downing Street, says Guardian columnist Martin Kettle.

This is why there is a second and even larger question lurking behind the visceral drama of Johnson’s attempt to stay in power. Their aim will be to rekindle a form of low-tax, low-regulation Conservatism that most of those who grew up in the Thatcher era, or in its shadow, see as the route to prosperity and government. It will be as though the pandemic, the cost of living squeeze, the climate crisis and the war in Europe can be forgotten along with Johnson himself. This sense of limitless entitlement is what unifies all the successes, failures and the sheer chaos of Johnson’s career. This is a code for spending cuts and choices that Johnson, concerned more with popularity, seems unwilling to endorse. It has little connection with the low tax, small state, globally liberal Toryism that preceded it and which the party cast aside when it rushed to embrace Johnson as the answer to its problems. If and when Johnson goes, his form of Toryism may go too. The cabinet refused to move against Johnson in June when it should have done, and the departures of Sunak and Javid have not yet been followed by significant other senior ministers. The loss of a couple of ministers will not have dented his narcissism one bit. Westminster will be in turmoil today, and it will not take much for fresh momentum to build against Johnson’s attempt to continue with business as usual. The revolt of MPs in the confidence vote last month, meanwhile, was botched by being both badly timed and unsuccessful. The other would be a revolt of the parliamentary party of the kind that eventually did for Theresa May three summers ago.

The British prime minister insists he plans to stay, despite the resignation of a stream of senior colleagues who say he is not fit to govern.

Nominations are expected to open on Wednesday for the executive of the so-called 1922 Committee that sets the rules for leadership confidence votes. Although Johnson won wider plaudits for his support of Ukraine, a lift in his personal poll ratings did not last. "Every day that he remains deepens the sense of chaos," it said. "I fully support the prime minister," Scottish Secretary Alister Jack said. "I suspect we will have to drag him kicking and screaming from Downing Street," one Conservative lawmaker told Reuters, speaking on condition of anonymity. "For the good of the country, he should go."

Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern is assuring people she's "fine" after what has been described as the "most violent handshake" ever with UK Prime Minister ...

From Jaws to The Thick of It, a roundup of some of the best satire as the prime minister fights for survival.

Footage of Tuesday morning’s grim cabinet meeting – why did Johnson let in the cameras? This isn’t a meme really, but it probably meets the definition of satire. The latest iteration of a popular meme format of the comedy gameshow.

LONDON — British Prime Minister Boris Johnson on Wednesday was fighting for his political life as more ministers and aides continued to quit his government, ...

One of the lawmakers to resign his post on Wednesday was Will Quince, children and families minister. The majority of the British public think that he should throw in the towel now. Analysts say that Johnson is lucky insomuch as their reasons for losing faith in Johnson seem to be varied — his critics aren’t coalescing around a single issue, the way that those who helped to get rid of Theresa May, Johnson’s predecessor, did when they ditched her. While some leaders may have read the room and decided to call it quits, Ford said, Corbyn did not and remained leader until the spring of 2020. And under the current Conservative Party rules, there’s no formal way for Johnson’s critics to quickly get rid of him. The resignations, which have followed a string of scandals, have prompted numerous questions: How long can Johnson survive?

A month ago, battered by a previous wave of controversies over Downing Street parties, Tory MPs called a confidence vote in the prime minister, which he won, ...

This would, in some ways, be the most straightforward solution, even if it would require an interim PM to keep the seat warm while a new Conservative leader is selected. For many leaders as embattled as Johnson, this would be the obvious way out. This would see Johnson, like May, offered a deal by leading backbenchers: announce an imminent date for your departure, or we will change the party rules and get rid of you anyway. Losing a confidence vote closes the argument for a Tory leader – they are out. A month ago, battered by a previous wave of controversies over Downing Street parties, Tory MPs called a confidence vote in the prime minister, which he won, albeit with 41% of parliamentary Tories wanting him out. By any normal metric it is fair to say Boris Johnson is doomed, given the scale of ministerial resignations and the number of backbench MPs publicly withdrawing their support.

One of Boris Johnson's allies claimed that Rishi Sunak and Sajid Javid had failed to "tap up" support from other cabinet ministers, before announcing their ...

The chairman of the 1922 committee, Sir Graham Brady, could go to No 10 with - metaphorically - a pile of no confidence letters under his arm. I don't want this to go on until the Autumn." This includes an MP who prominently supported him in the last leadership contest. And what is striking is that I have spoken to a number of Conservative MPs who backed Boris Johnson in the last confidence vote, who would not support him in the next one. If Boris Johnson were to be defeated in a confidence vote, then nominations would be open for a new leader - with MPs potentially whittling the candidates down to the final two before the summer recess. After a wave of high profile resignations, Number 10 will be keen to say they have stabilised the ship - there is a new chancellor, with a new approach, a new health secretary and a new education secretary.

Resignations are a feature of the constitution of the United Kingdom, and not a bug. When a minister resigns, a noise is made that usually catches the ...

What is missing is the soothing green light of a change of prime minister. The first is the power of patronage which derives from the royal prerogative, and this enables a prime minister to hire and fire cabinet ministers and to set the agenda for the government. The constitution of the UK is used to prime ministers being got rid of between general elections. And current Prime Minister Boris Johnson appears to have lost the confidence of both. Resignations are a feature of the constitution of the United Kingdom, and not a bug. The prime minister of the United Kingdom has surprisingly few formal powers.

LONDON — British Prime Minister Boris Johnson is in serious trouble — again — with more than 25 members of his government resigning in the past day.

It was made worse by a series of scandals — dubbed “Partygate” — over several parties being held at Downing Street when lockdowns and social distancing were in place during the worst of the pandemic. And he has been criticized over the mounting cost-of-living crisis in the U.K. “Mr. Johnson was briefed in person about the initiation and outcome of the investigation,” McDonald said. Johnson was criticized for his handling of the coronavirus pandemic. The committee is set to meet Wednesday and could decide to elect new members next week. But since then, he has lost the public’s confidence: In a new YouGov poll, 69 percent of Britons said Johnson should resign, and many of his party members agree. Johnson says he has no plans to quit. But Pincher last week resigned from that post amid a scandal, as the British press widely reported that he had allegedly tried to grope several men while intoxicated at a bar. At first, as the scandal broke and Pincher resigned, Johnson’s official spokesman said the prime minister did not know of earlier incidents of Pincher’s alleged misconduct. He resigned from his post as government whip in 2017 after a Conservative Party activist accused him of making unwanted advances toward him. Sunak said: “The public rightly expect government to be conducted properly, competently and seriously. Having a senior cabinet member resign is a big deal in British politics, and Sunak and Javid were in particularly important positions.

Two top ministers and a slew of more junior officials resigned this week, saying they could no longer serve under Johnson's scandal-tarred leadership.

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Boris Johnson's scandal-ravaged premiership appeared on the brink of collapse Wednesday, after numerous ministers and former allies pulled their support for ...

Johnson has developed a good relationship with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky and been a leading player in Europe's response to Russia's invasion. Johnson's efforts to cling to power were branded "pathetic" by the opposition leader Keir Starmer, who also turned his attack towards the few allies in his Cabinet still propping him up. Numerous Prime Ministers have been dumped from office by sudden and deadly rebellions within their own parties, with leaders typically choosing to resign once the writing is on the wall. "The public rightly expect government to be conducted properly, competently and seriously," Chancellor Rishi Sunak said in his resignation letter on Tuesday night. Less than three years ago, Johnson secured a landslide election win and then enacted Brexit, a political revolution for which many within his party had clamored for decades. His longtime ally and senior Cabinet minister, Michael Gove, also urged him on Wednesday afternoon to accept that his time is up, two senior advisers with knowledge of the situation confirmed to CNN. That news was first reported by Mail+, Daily Mail's digital platform.

Minister reportedly told Johnson before PMQs that he should quit, and was absent from frontbench.

In a further blow to Johnson, the influential backbencher Robert Halfon announced on Wednesday he could no longer support the prime minister, saying he felt “the public have been misled” over the resignation of Pincher after further allegations of groping, the catalyst for the escalation of the crisis. Felicity Buchan, a junior aide in the business department, also stepped down, telling Johnson he had “lost the confidence of my constituents and me”. Earlier, in a punchy resignation speech, Javid urged cabinet ministers to follow him in abandoning Johnson’s administration, saying: “Enough is enough”.

Sky is reporting this morning that cabinet ministers, including the new Chancellor Nadhim Zahawi, are in Number 10 to tell Johnson to resign. The delegation of ...

"The difficulty is not overall the programme of the government," he said. But I'm afraid he has neither the character nor the temperament to be our prime minister." That needs to be addressed." In a scathing letter, Sunak said: "The public rightly expect government to be conducted properly, competently and seriously. Johnson reportedly told the group he would not resign, suggesting his departure could lead to an early election and defeat for the party. "At some point we have to conclude that enough is enough," he told fellow lawmakers. Last week, Pincher resigned as deputy chief whip after complaints he groped two men at a private club. "And that's what I'm going to do." The Times reports UK Home Secretary Priti Patel has also sided with the group calling for Johnson to go. Months of discontent over Johnson's judgment and ethics erupted when Javid and Treasury chief Rishi Sunak resigned within minutes of each other on Tuesday evening. As Johnson dug in, critics accused him of refusing to accept the inevitable and of behaving more like a president than a prime minister by referring to his "mandate". In Britain, voters elect a party to govern, not the prime minister directly. Sky News reports a total of 38 MPs have quit.

As the PM struggles to keep his job, we look at the rules and conventions that apply.

But to seek an election without the blessing of the government or the bulk of your own MPs would be constitutionally very unusual, and would be fiercely resisted. If he resigned with immediate effect it would require an interim PM to be appointed, as constitutionally there needs to be a prime minister in post at all times. Under this scenario nothing formal would need to happen – Johnson would stay in post, attempt to patch together an interim cabinet, and the focus would shift to choosing his replacement.

The embattled British Prime Minister ordered security personnel at 10 Downing Street to post a photo of Giuliani at the building's entrance.

“Before I see Boris, I think I’ll hit a few pubs and go on TV,” he said. Giuliani, however, seemed oblivious to Johnson’s state of alarm. “I’m sure Boris will be excited to see me,” Giuliani said.

Two of his top ministers have quit and others are calling for him to go, but he is hanging on.

Similar allegations of sexual misconduct had been made against Mr Pincher in the past. But so far Mr Johnson remains defiant and says he has no intention of resigning given his "colossal mandate" from voters at the last election. In a subsequent statement to Parliament on Wednesday Mr Javid said - with Mr Johnson looking on - that the problem "starts at the top" and "that's not going to change". Tuesday afternoon saw Mr Johnson call the rest of his cabinet to find out who was staying and who was going - so far the rest of the cabinet has remained loyal. "It's a bit like the death of Rasputin. He's been poisoned, stabbed, he's been shot, his body's been dumped in a freezing river and still he lives." Tory MP Andrew Mitchell told the BBC: "It's a bit like the death of Rasputin. He's been poisoned, stabbed, he's been shot, his body's been dumped in a freezing river and still he lives."

The UK prime minister is defying calls to resign, as he attempts to face down a growing mutiny among his cabinet.

the Labour leader said. But Johnson defied calls for him to go, adding he had a right to stay because of the 80-strong majority he won at the 2019 election. A senior ally of the prime minister told the BBC: "It's now a question of how he exits," adding the situation was "not sustainable". The BBC has also been told Johnson has been stressing that "millions" voted for him, and questioning whether any of his would-be successors would be able to "replicate his electoral success at the next election". But he has defied the growing calls for him to quit, saying it would not be "responsible" for him to go. He told MPs it would not be right for him to "walk away" amid economic pressures and the war in Ukraine.

The prime minister has rejected pleas from within his party to make a dignified exit, sacking a loyalist senior MP who dared to speak against him.

“The difficulty is not overall the programme of the government," he said. In a scathing letter, Sunak said “the public rightly expect government to be conducted properly, competently and seriously. That needs to be addressed.” How Johnson handles the questioning may determine whether the simmering rebellion in the Conservative Party gathers enough strength to oust him. A YouGov poll published on Tuesday found that 69% of Britons said Johnson should resign – including a majority of Conservative voters (54%). Last week, Pincher resigned as Conservative deputy chief whip after complaints he groped two men at a private club. “But this is an abnormal prime minister, a brilliantly charismatic, very funny, very amusing, big, big character. Months of discontent over Johnson’s judgement and ethics erupted when Javid and Treasury chief Rishi Sunak resigned within minutes of each other on Tuesday evening. “And that’s what I’m going to do.” “The problem is character and integrity in Downing Street, and I think that people in the Conservative Party and people in the country know that.” PM then phoned Gove this evening and sacked him.— Daniel Hewitt (@DanielHewittITV) July 6, 2022 This is despite a delegation of cabinet ministers meeting with him in private this morning to press him to stand down and the resignations of MPs and officials continuing to snowball.

Critics argue the leader's days are numbered following his poor handling of sexual misconduct allegations against a senior official.

But I’m afraid he has neither the character nor the temperament to be our prime minister.” In a scathing letter, Sunak said: “The public rightly expect government to be conducted properly, competently and seriously. The 1922 Committee, a small but influential group of Conservative MP, could decide as early as Monday UK time whether to do that. It is rare for a prime minister to cling to power in the face of this much pressure from his Cabinet colleagues. Javid and Treasury chief Rishi Sunak resigned within minutes of each other over the latest scandal. It quoted a source close to Johnson as saying he told colleagues there would be “chaos” if he quit.

Britain's prime minister has rejected pleas from within his party to make a dignified exit, sacking a loyalist senior MP who dared to speak against him.

“The difficulty is not overall the programme of the government," he said. In a scathing letter, Sunak said “the public rightly expect government to be conducted properly, competently and seriously. That needs to be addressed.” How Johnson handles the questioning may determine whether the simmering rebellion in the Conservative Party gathers enough strength to oust him. A YouGov poll published on Tuesday found that 69% of Britons said Johnson should resign – including a majority of Conservative voters (54%). Last week, Pincher resigned as Conservative deputy chief whip after complaints he groped two men at a private club. “But this is an abnormal prime minister, a brilliantly charismatic, very funny, very amusing, big, big character. Months of discontent over Johnson’s judgement and ethics erupted when Javid and Treasury chief Rishi Sunak resigned within minutes of each other on Tuesday evening. “And that’s what I’m going to do.” PM then phoned Gove this evening and sacked him.— Daniel Hewitt (@DanielHewittITV) July 6, 2022 In holding on to his office, Johnson is attempting to defy the mathematics of parliamentary government and the traditions of British politics. It is rare for a prime minister to cling to power in the face of this much pressure from his cabinet colleagues.

British Prime Minister Boris Johnson has battled to remain in office, shrugging off calls for his resignation after two top ministers and a slew of junior ...

But I’m afraid he has neither the character nor the temperament to be our prime minister.” In a scathing letter, Sunak said: “The public rightly expect government to be conducted properly, competently and seriously. The 1922 Committee, a small but influential group of Conservative MP, could decide as early as Monday UK time whether to do that. It is rare for a prime minister to cling to power in the face of this much pressure from his Cabinet colleagues. Javid and Treasury chief Rishi Sunak resigned within minutes of each other over the latest scandal. It quoted a source close to Johnson as saying he told colleagues there would be “chaos” if he quit.

He hardly has any government ministers and his own cabinet tried to force him to resign. What is going on?

For Johnson it appears that the next chapter of his story is about to unfold. Any political strategist worth his or her salt could have told the Labour Party that Boris Johnson had become a political liability for the Conservatives. His trust problem had made him a toxic brand. Bluster, bluff and buffoonery – levelled-up with puppyish optimism – are not enough for a country facing multiple crises and the need to define a new position in the world. The conversation drifted, unsurprisingly, to the mental health of politicians but even this connection floated unnoticed past the eyes of the prime minister as he randomly declared that “alcohol served in the Palace of Westminster” was the heart of the problem. The only problem with this diagnosis is that it is thought to be an “acquired disorder” linked to the pressures of holding high political office whereas Johnson’s blond ambition has always been fuelled by hubristic tendencies. The exceptional times of the past few years demanded an exceptional politician who was willing to break the rules and ride roughshod over convention to get things done.

Chaos continues in the UK with 44 resignations and one sacking from Boris Johnson's government since Chancellor Rishi Sunak and Health minister Sajid Javid ...

I think roughly one third of the entire government has now resigned. If Boris Johnson is to continue, which he says he thinks he can, they've obviously got to be replaced, it's going to be hard to find people to replace them.” There are now moves afoot to change Conservative Party rules governing votes of no confidence in the leader, currently, having won a vote in June, the rules stipulate there can be no other vote of no confidence in Johnson, if triggered, for a year, says Gye.

In twenty-four hours, more than three dozen ministers and aides deserted Johnson and left the U.K. with gaping holes in its government.

“The original No 10 line is not true,” McDonald wrote, referring to 10 Downing Street, “and the modification is still not accurate.” Johnson acknowledged that a complaint had been raised with him and said that he should have acted on it, but he also said, “I’m fed up with people saying things on my behalf or trying to say things about what I did or didn’t know.” “Last night I drank far too much,” Pincher wrote in his resignation letter to Johnson. “I’ve embarrassed myself and other people which is the last thing I want to do and for that I apologise to you and to those concerned.” He is coöperating with an investigation into his behavior. When the questions were over, Johnson had to sit through Javid’s resignation speech, which effectively urged the rest of Johnson’s team to abandon him. Ian Blackford, the parliamentary leader of the Scottish National Party in Westminster, compared Johnson to a dead parrot. Andrew Murrison, the trade envoy to Morocco, described the “rolling chaos” of his premiership. It is a wonderful and necessary fact of political biology that we never know when our time is up,” Johnson wrote, in 2006, about Tony Blair. “We kid ourselves that we must stay because we would be ‘letting people down’ or that there is a ‘job to be finished.’ In reality, we are just terrified of the comedown.” At one point, when Johnson tried one of his usual attack lines on the Labour leader, Keir Starmer, and his team, the Labour front bench began to wave farewell, in unison. The double resignation was the start of a twenty-four-hour putsch in which more than three dozen ministers and aides deserted Johnson—his moral authority had evaporated some time ago—and left the nation with gaping holes in its government. “I tell you that the prime minister will not go early—because it is simply not in his nature. “We may not have always been popular, but we have been competent in acting in the national interest,” Javid wrote, in his resignation letter. By the time Johnson stood up to face Prime Minister’s Questions, in the House of Commons, at noon, it was becoming hard to keep count of the resignations, or to know on which social-media platform to find them. “Sadly, in the current circumstances, the public are concluding that we are now neither.” Sunak said he was leaving because voters expected the government to be run seriously.

Mr Lewis was among previously-loyal cabinet ministers who told the prime minister on Wednesday that he needed to step down from office due to a loss in support.

In his letter to the prime minister, Mr Lewis said a decision to leave government is "never taken lightly particularly at such a critical time for Northern Ireland". A decent and responsible Government relies on honesty, integrity and mutual respect - it is a matter of profound personal regret that I must leave Government as I no longer believe those values are being upheld.— Brandon Lewis (@BrandonLewis) As the crisis for Boris Johnson was beginning on Tuesday, I was told by a source: "If he decides to soldier on, Brandon Lewis will be his trusted lieutenant." Mr Lewis tweeted on Thursday that a "decent and responsible" government relies on "honesty, integrity and mutual respect". Mr Lewis was among previously-loyal cabinet ministers who told the prime minister on Wednesday that he needed to step down from office due to a loss in support. Brandon Lewis has resigned as Northern Ireland secretary as the crisis over Boris Johnson's leadership grows.

OPINION: It was a typical Johnson lie, heedless of the fact that the people who actually had warned him were bound to speak up. And it turned out to be the ...

Even Conservative voters are sick of the lies, but he really can’t help it. He lies frequently, and he clearly has the sociopath’s ability to sincerely believe his own lie as soon as he says it. But his lies often fall apart within days, hours or even moments of being uttered; he just doesn’t bother to calculate the probability that they will believed. When most people lie, they first do a swift mental calculation about whether it will work, because being caught out in a lie is generally worse than the cost of telling the truth. The rules of the 1922 Committee, all the Conservative MPs in solemn conclave, say that if the leader survives a leadership challenge, there cannot be another one for a year. He survived a confidence vote by his own Conservative MPs in June, but 41% of them voted to depose him as party leader (and therefore prime minister). They’ll be back at it again shortly, and this time they may succeed This is the behaviour of a sociopath (or perhaps a psychopath – the words are used interchangeably in popular discourse). It refers to people who are usually male, intelligent and charming. That, more than any deed or misdeed, is what is now bringing him low. But there will be an election for the executive of the committee next week, and a new executive can change that rule if they wish. Johnson doesn’t do that, or at least he doesn’t do it very well. And it turned out to be the last straw. It is the incessant, instinctive, stupid lies.

Good morning. Well, he's definitely getting the barnacles off the boat. 44 members of the government have resigned in less than 30 hours. Boris Johnson stormed ...

Even if he wanted to do so, it seems likely that he would fail: the monarch and her advisers would likely conclude without fear of widespread contradiction that he had failed to reach the necessary bar. “Desperate, deluded PM clings to power” the Guardian’s front page says this morning, while the Times goes with “Johnson fights for his life” and shows the aforesaid with his fists clenched. The other prospect that has come under discussion is whether Johnson might try to force a new general election if he lost a confidence vote, out of … hubris? As he explained to cabinet ministers tonight the chance is not Boris or no Boris the choice is giving him a new change with a fresh chancellor and new programme that Rishi was not prepared to do, tax cuts, or spend months ripping each other apart to elect a leader without a mandate – coalition of chaos and Labour who will break up Britain. That’s the real choice. “You have to remember that there are 350-odd Conservative MPs and you have a few of them who have resigned,” the backbencher said. There will probably be more resignations today, while Johnson may find some warm bodies to fill a few of the open berths. It’s worth quoting the argument given by a No 10 source to the BBC last night in all its frothingly chaotic glory, with a great big ‘sic’ applying to the whole thing: The reality is that Johnson would now lose by a mile. “Maybe this is a good opportunity to slim down government,” one senior No 10 source apparently suggested last night, with the kind of touching optimism familiar to any observer of information ministries in failed states. Somehow, somehow, Boris Johnson is still in place, hunkering down in the No 10 bunker while Jacob Rees-Mogg and Nadine Dorries bring him news of successes on the eastern front. Gove had committed the cardinal sin of confronting Johnson with reality, and got called a “snake” for his troubles. Boris Johnson stormed past the previous record for the number of ministerial resignations in a single day with the departure of Mims Davies from the Department for Work and Pensions at 2.26pm; then they, and he, just kept going.

OPINION: No-one's reputation can survive contact with the British prime minister.

The prime minister is also central to the entire system of government. And when the prime minister is toxic, they have no immune system to protect them. They poison the government – and therefore the country – that he leads. Simon Case, the head of the civil service, is meant to be the brightest and the best of his generation. Johnson is not the cause of all that ails Britain. He has brio and charm. The ministerial code says that the prime minister is the ultimate judge of what constitutes acceptable behaviour. Finally, the civil service is particularly exposed to a virulent PM. Although civil servants are impartial and independent, the prime minister is still their ultimate boss. But the position of prime minister is not simply different from mayor in its importance and in its nature: less cheer and more leader. Taking the position of independent ethics adviser to the prime minister sounds like a nice way to top off a distinguished career of public service. The fact that Boris Johnson is a serial liar and lacks the self-discipline to apply himself to hard problems is well-known. He found that the prime minister had acted “unwisely” over a donor-funded refurbishment of his flat. The faces of Britain’s most senior politicians are ashen, the mood is palpably grim.

Exclusive: High Wycombe MP says if he won leadership race he would dismantle green policies.

Measures to stop wildlife becoming extinct, and to store carbon in the land would also be under threat if Baker became prime minister. They’re anti-human life on Earth in the name of environmentalism, and I want us to live flourishing and full lives with a healthy environment around us.” But if a risk is catastrophic and infinitesimally likely, then you just don’t do anything about it because it won’t happen.” He does not believe the high emissions scenarios presented by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) are likely to happen. He said he would end the push for more wind and solar power, explaining: “They are fundamentally intermittent sources of energy. He said a local Indian restaurant in his constituency was struggling with its energy bills, adding that it may have to close if prices do not go down.

LONDON — Boris Johnson has agreed to step down as the British prime minister, the BBC and other British media outlets said Thursday, following an avalanche ...

Bernard Jenkin, a Conservative lawmaker and chair of the powerful Liaison Committee, told the national broadcaster that Johnson “can go with some dignity” or he can be “forced out like Donald Trump, clinging to power and pretending he’s won the election when he’s lost." Northern Ireland Secretary Brandon Lewis was among those who resigned from his position in the Cabinet on Thursday morning. Many of the letters including brutal assessments of Johnson’s tenure and critiques of his honesty. You must do the right thing and go now.” Ministers in charge of security, the courts, technology, education, finance, Northern Ireland, science have all left their jobs. Chris Mason, the BBC’s political editor, wrote: “Boris Johnson will resign as Conservative leader today - he will continue as Prime Minister until the autumn.

Boris Johnson is fighting to stay on as prime minister as the wave of ministerial resignations continues.

But there are elections next week to the top team of the 1922 Committee, which organises the confidence votes. If the party wants to stop him they have to take that mandate away." Javid told the Commons in his resignation speech on Wednesday that "enough was enough" and "the problem starts at the top and I believe that is not going to change". We are, however, now past the point of no return." I have gone out and defended this government both publicly and privately. And justifying Johnson staying in the role, a No 10 source said: "The prime minister has a mandate from 14 million people to get a job done...

British Prime Minister Boris Johnson has rejected clamours for his resignation from his Cabinet and across the Conservative Party, digging in his heels on Thursday even as dozens of officials quit and previously loyal allies urged him to go after yet ...

It is rare for a prime minister to cling on to office in the face of this much pressure from his Cabinet colleagues. He needs to recognise that he no longer has the moral authority to lead. Health Secretary Sajid Javid and Treasury chief Rishi Sunak resigned within minutes of each other Wednesday over the scandal. And for him, it's over," Scottish National Party leader Ian Blackford told The Associated Press. Last week, Pincher resigned as deputy chief whip after complaints he groped two men at a private club. But Johnson instead opted to fight for his political career and fired one of the Cabinet officials, Michael Gove, British media reported. He said in a statement: "He was always unfit for office. Under current party rules, a year must pass before another formal leadership challenge can take place. I cannot sacrifice my personal integrity to defend things as they stand now." "Frankly … the job of the prime minister in difficult circumstances, when he's been handed a colossal mandate, is to keep going,'' Johnson told detractors in Parliament on Wednesday. "And that's what I'm going to do." And all those who have been complicit should be utterly ashamed. Starmer said that "enough is enough" and "we don't need to change the Tory at the top – we need a proper change of government".

According to the BBC, Johnson has spoken to Tory 1922 Committee chairman Graham Brady and agreed to stand down, with a new Tory leader set to be in place by the ...

It is rare for a prime minister to cling to power in the face of this much pressure from his Cabinet colleagues. He needs to recognise that he no longer has the moral authority to lead. Health Secretary Sajid Javid and Treasury chief Rishi Sunak resigned within minutes of each other Wednesday over the scandal. But Johnson instead opted to fight for his political career and fired one of the Cabinet officials, Michael Gove, British media reported. And for him, it's over," Scottish National Party leader Ian Blackford told The Associated Press. Last week, Pincher resigned as deputy chief whip after complaints he groped two men at a private club. He said in a statement: "He was always unfit for office. Under current party rules, a year must pass before another formal leadership challenge can take place. I cannot sacrifice my personal integrity to defend things as they stand now." And all those who have been complicit should be utterly ashamed. Starmer said that "enough is enough" and "we don't need to change the Tory at the top – we need a proper change of government". "Prime Minister: this is not sustainable and it will only get worse: for you, for the Conservative Party and most importantly of all the country," Zahawi said in a letter to Johnson. "You must do the right thing and go now."

An official in Johnson's Downing Street office confirmed the UK prime minister would announce his resignation later. The official spoke on condition of ...

Johnson, 58, was known for his knack for wiggling out of tight spots. “He’s breached the trust that was put in him. An official in Johnson's Downing Street office confirmed the UK prime minister would announce his resignation later. 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. A group of Johnson’s most trusted Cabinet ministers visited him at his office in Downing Street Wednesday, telling him to stand down after losing the trust of his party. Johnson had rebuffed calls by his Cabinet to step down in the wake of ethics scandals.

Boris Johnson will resign as Conservative leader today - but he will continue as the United Kingdom's prime minister until their autumn.

"He is a figure of absolute disrepute. The deputy chairman of the Conservative Party, Justin Tomlinson said: "His resignation was inevitable. As a party we must quickly unite and focus on what matters. After losing so many ministers, he has lost the trust and authority required to continue. This is true now more than ever," Ellis, a minister in the Cabinet Office department which oversees the running of government, said. And they cannot now pretend they are the ones to sort it out.

After days of refusing to resign, the embattled prime minister looks set to step down as government resignations flood in.

Bernard Jenkin, a Conservative lawmaker and chair of the powerful Liaison Committee, told the national broadcaster that Johnson “can go with some dignity” or he can be “forced out like Donald Trump, clinging to power and pretending he’s won the election when he’s lost.” Ministers in charge of security, the courts, technology, education, finance, Northern Ireland and science have all left their jobs. He tweeted: “Prime Minister: this is not sustainable and it will only get worse: for you, for the Conservative Party and most importantly of all the country. Nadhim Zahawi, who was appointed chancellor, the second-most important job in government, on Tuesday, turned on Johnson on Thursday and told him to step down. Many of the letters included brutal assessments of Johnson’s tenure and critiques of his honesty. Johnson’s former top aide and now chief critic, who helped his boss win the Brexit referendum and get elected, warned that the prime minister needed to go now.

LONDON — British Prime Minister Boris Johnson is expected to announce his resignation Thursday amid a party revolt and is due to give a statement to the ...

A contest for the leadership of his Conservative party will take place over summer. But his popularity took serious dents after a string of scandals, from police fines over coronavirus lockdown parties to a brouhaha over the cost of decorating his official residence. The next day, he penned a letter — shared on Twitter — in which he urged Johnson to “leave with dignity.”

The embattled politician finally agreed to resign after one of his closest allies told him to "do the right thing and go now".

You can go with some dignity or you can be forced out like Donald Trump clinging to power and pretending he’s won the election when he’s lost’.’’ Thursday morning’s resignations meant that 50 Cabinet secretaries, ministers and lower-level officials had quit the government over two days, often castigating the prime minister for his lack of integrity. His resignation will trigger an internal election to pick a new leader of the Conservative Party, who will also be the next prime minister. That process is likely to take place over the summer. Zahawi, who was promoted earlier this week as Johnson tried to shore up his Cabinet, said 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. Johnson had clung to power for two days, defiantly telling lawmakers on Wednesday that he had a “colossal mandate” from voters and intended to get on with the business of government.

The 50th resignation came from George Freeman, a junior minister for science, research and innovation, and pensions minister Guy Opperman quit shortly after.

Prime minister, you know in your heart what the right thing to do is, and go now." Johnson met with remaining members of his cabinet on Wednesday night, many of whom were reported to have urged him to step down. Matt Beech, director of the Centre for British Politics at the University of Hull, told CNBC on Thursday that the challenge Johnson is facing this time around is different on account of the "huge proportion of the government payroll vote" that have resigned, characterizing the situation as "pretty seismic." She told Johnson in a letter: "I see no way that you can continue in post, but without a formal mechanism to remove you it seems the only way that this is possible is for those of us who remain in cabinet to force your hand." "I am heartbroken that he hasn't listened and that he is now undermining the incredible achievements of this Government at this late hour," Zahawi said in a public letter Thursday morning. In a scathing resignation letter to the prime minister, Freeman said the "culmination of your lack of transparency and candour with Parliament (and willingness to ask your Ministers to mislead Parliament), your removal of key pillars of the Ministerial code, your handling of your appointment of a Deputy Chief Whip who it turns out you knew had a history of sexual abuse allegations, is too much."

As Boris Johnson's tenure as UK prime minister comes to an end, the race is on to replace him with no clear favourite.

Zahawi said last week that it would be a "privilege" to be prime minister at some stage. He would offer a more serious and less controversial style of leadership after the turmoil of Johnson's premiership. He resigned as Johnson's finance minister in 2020. His last job was as education secretary. However, there is no clear favourite and they are not listed in order of likely prospects. But Sunak later faced criticism for not giving enough cost-of-living support to households.

Boris Johnson to resign as party leader but push to stay PM until autumn. Plus, Biden planned to nominate an anti-abortion lawyer.

It comes after an explosive spring that unleashed major wildfires from the US south-west to Alaska. The amount of acreage burned by this point in the year has eclipsed previous years, standing at roughly 220% higher than the 10-year average. Mohamed Lahyani, a Swede who is one of the longest-serving umpires on the ATP tour, told him that criticism of umpires is becoming more intense and personal – even as technology reduces the margin for error in tight calls. “If the player comes to you and says, ‘What the fuck are you doing,’ we can’t say, ‘I am just doing my fucking job,’” said the Brazilian umpire Carlos Bernardes. “Please be assured I will defend this law to the US supreme court if necessary and defeat the federal government’s efforts to interfere with our state’s election safeguards.” There have been a string of acrimonious, high-profile incidents this year in which players have openly criticised officials, sometimes with obscenities. “It turns out that being hangry is a real thing,” said the study lead, Prof Viren Swami, a social psychologist at Anglia Ruskin University. Tennis umpires, like officials in other sports, are not allowed to explain their decisions in press conferences or on social media. A delegation of senior cabinet ministers, including the new chancellor, Nadhim Zahawi, the home secretary, Priti Patel, and the transport secretary, Grant Shapps, personally urged him to resign. Mark Brnovich has vowed that he would continue to defend the law. Police briefly confiscated weapons from his house, yet three months later he successfully applied for a gun license at the age of 19. The court has become significantly more conservative since then. An emergency call was also reportedly made in April 2019 after the gunman had attempted suicide.

Britain's prime minister steps down as leader of the Conservative Party after several top officials quit his government, saying they couldn't serve under ...

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U.K. · It comes as the wave of resignations from Johnson's government and party since Tuesday evening approached 60, with one Conservative Party member after ...

The 58-year-old former London mayor had become known for his ability to wriggle out of political controversies. It has since emerged that Johnson appointed him to the role despite knowing of previous misconduct allegations against him. The secret ballot of Tory lawmakers saw some 211 MPs vote in favor of Johnson, while 148 voted against him. He said he intends to remain in place until a new Tory leader is elected. Johnson thanked his wife Carrie Johnson, his children, the National Health Service, armed forces and Downing Street staff. Johnson's decision to remain in office comes despite a clear lack of support from within his own party and a growing push across the political spectrum for him to step down immediately.

After an acute political meltdown in the U.K., Prime Minister Boris Johnson has announced his resignation as leader of the Conservative Party.

Both sterling and the FTSE 100 gained on news that Johnson was set to resign. A snap YouGov poll which asked 716 Conservative party members who they'd like to replace Johnson found that Ben Wallace and Penny Mordaunt came out neck-and-neck, with 13% of those polled backing each of them respectively. After some six years of Brexit and Boris, that's not a bad thing," Pickering noted. "The next few months in U.K. politics are difficult to call," Kallum Pickering, senior economist at Berenberg Bank said in a note Wednesday, saying that financial markets were likely to be rattled over the next few months and likely into the fall. Unsurprisingly, the leader of the opposition Labour Party Keir Starmer has said that Johnson needs to go "completely" and that "there should be none of this nonsense about clinging on for a few months." "The first round is likely to start imminently and will consist of a series of votes among the party's MPs designed to whittle down the process to two candidates (taking two weeks or less). The second round will be a ballot among party members to decide who becomes the next leader (and hence Prime Minister). This could take a further four weeks or so," Monks explained. If the Conservative Party does not support Johnson remaining in his post, it could recommend that the Queen appoint another Conservative lawmaker as a stopgap — with the current Deputy Prime Minister Dominic Raab likely to be a frontrunner. Among those expressing concern over Johnson remaining caretaker prime minister until a new leader is selected is Business Secretary Kwasi Kwarteng. He said would rather Johnson goes now and urged the party to elect a new leader "as soon as practicable." - Johnson has expressed his will to remain in office as prime minister while a new leader is selected, but there is disquiet over the prospect of Johnson remaining in office for any time at all. After an acute political meltdown in the U.K., Prime Minister Boris Johnson has resigned as leader of the Conservative Party, setting in motion a race for a new prime minister. Johnson stood at a lectern outside No. 10 Downing Street at lunchtime Thursday and announced his resignation, stating that "no one in politics is remotely indispensable" and that he was "sad to be giving up the best job in the world." - After an acute political meltdown in the U.K., Prime Minister Boris Johnson has announced his resignation as leader of the Conservative Party.

British Prime Minister Boris Johnson resigned today, acknowledging that it was "clearly the will" of his party that he should go.

It is rare for a prime minister to cling to power in the face of this much pressure from his Cabinet colleagues. He needs to recognise that he no longer has the moral authority to lead. Health Secretary Sajid Javid and Treasury chief Rishi Sunak resigned within minutes of each other Wednesday over the scandal. But Johnson instead opted to fight for his political career and fired one of the Cabinet officials, Michael Gove, British media reported. And for him, it's over," Scottish National Party leader Ian Blackford told The Associated Press. He said in a statement: "He was always unfit for office. He stepped down immediately as leader of his Conservative Party but plans to remain as prime minister while the leadership contest is held. Last week, Pincher resigned as deputy chief whip after complaints he groped two men at a private club. I cannot sacrifice my personal integrity to defend things as they stand now." "But it should have happened long ago," the statement read. We need a fresh start for Britain." And all those who have been complicit should be utterly ashamed.

The UK prime minister resigns as Conservative leader but says he will continue to serve until the party chooses his successor.

This is true now more than ever," Ellis, a minister in the Cabinet Office department which oversees the running of government, said. "He is a figure of absolute disrepute. After losing so many ministers, he has lost the trust and authority required to continue. And they cannot now pretend they are the ones to sort it out. We need a Labour government." Other British political figures also weighed in on the issue, insisting Johnson's tenure was now untenable. "We need an acting PM who is not a candidate for leader to stabilise the government while a new leader is elected." But he said he now hoped the Conservative Party could "get back to values" such as "freedom under the law". Conservative MP Robert Buckland said "the views of colleagues" would have pushed Johnson to resign, adding "he has bowed to the inevitable". He said Johnson managed to "break the logjam on Brexit". He said it was "clearly now the will of the parliamentary party" for there to be a new prime minister. "The change we need is not just at the top, we need a change of government.

Yesterday afternoon, the Conservative politician Sajid Javid stood up in the British Parliament to criticize his party leader, Boris Johnson, for being careless ...

This is not a new phenomenon: In his 20s, he was sacked from a newspaper job for making up a quotation from a source, and at age 40, he was sacked from the shadow cabinet for lying to the party’s leader, and to journalists, about having an affair. However, he did exactly what you would do as a 55-year-old man if you believed that Johnson could hang on for a while, that the Conservatives would lose the next election, and that you would be seen as past your prime by the time they regained power. The second group consists of those who knew who Johnson was and what he was but gambled that he could give them what they wanted. The most obvious exponent of that view is Johnson’s former adviser Dominic Cummings. He wanted to “get Brexit done” after three years of tortuous negotiations by Theresa May, and in Johnson he saw a candidate willing to break with legal norms to do so. Many of Johnson’s former supporters fall into this group: They needed him to deliver Brexit, but any old chump can bluster about “leveling up” the regions outside London and fail to tackle the energy crisis, which is what he was reduced to. He refused to leave office even after a delegation of his remaining ministers told him to his face last night that he had to go. (He proceeded to lose that place for kissing an adviser in his office during lockdown, and has now reinvented himself as a turtleneck-wearing crypto bro.) The death blow came when it was revealed that Johnson had not only known about the allegations, but had responded to them in the most Johnsonian way possible: “Pincher by name, pincher by nature,” he had reportedly said. He cannot be allowed to use the confidentiality of the process three years ago to pursue his predatory behavior in other contexts.” But the main subtext of most of the letters was simple: We defended you, and in return you’ve made us look like idiots. He cannot govern without the confidence of his party. Johnson took a little longer to acknowledge that reality, but this morning he quit as Conservative leader.

Boris Johnson always wanted to be Winston Churchill. Now, he's emulated his hero in at least one respect: He has been dragged from high office amid scandal.

His most senior defender — Truss — was nowhere to be seen, jumping on a plane to Bali, Indonesia, for a G-20 meeting. Suella Braverman, the attorney general, has already announced her intention to stand in the leadership race. Britain doesn’t have a written constitution and the prime minister is not directly elected. Bellwether columnist Alice Thomson wrote in the Times of London that for the sake of Britain’s democracy, enough is enough. The final blow came from his own appointed ministers, as around 40 senior officials resigned in a single 24-hour period this week. In the latest Westminster sex scandal — there were nine others in 2022 alone — it turned out that Johnson knew for three years that his loyal lieutenant Chris Pincher had been accused of sexually assaulting young men on multiple occasions. More loyalists jumped ship Wednesday morning, and another group of five resigned together after Johnson’s defiant performance in Parliament on Wednesday afternoon. “Fuck that” was his pithy reply to a colleague who asked if he considered resigning Tuesday, The Times of London reported. Johnson’s ejection from Downing Street is not a rejection of Brexit, or a sign that British conservatism is changing course. Perhaps if the world gets its act together on climate change, he will also get a hat tip for locking Britain into its net-zero emissions path, overriding his conservative base. Even as the walls closed in around him, he remained defiant. Johnson was responding to Obama urging Britain to vote to stay in the EU, calling it “a symbol of the part-Kenyan president’s ancestral dislike of the British Empire.”

Led by Health Secretary Sajid Javid and Chancellor Rishi Sunak, over 50 members of Johnson's government resigned in a day and a half. Johnson has now resigned ...

While he certainly has a high-ranking position, he has had a number of missteps. If the Conservatives want a safe choice instead of another “exciting” leader to follow Johnson, Truss may have a shot. Perception that he allowed personal ambition to override his moral compass is likely to hurt Zahawi. He will need to answer for this when asked by the party and country. While considered by many within the party as a very capable MP, with a working-class background that would count in his favour, some worry Javid showed a lack of judgment in rejoining the Johnson cabinet. Early polling suggests Wallace is the candidate to beat, but the campaign will test his early popularity. Led by Health Secretary Sajid Javid and Chancellor Rishi Sunak, over 50 members of Johnson’s government resigned in a day and a half.

The prime minister's fake populism led to his undoing—and will keep haunting his country.

Because we are talking about Westminster, not Washington, it’s extremely unlikely, indeed unimaginable, that Johnson will now stage a coup, encourage a violent march on the House of Commons, or support the public hanging of the chancellor of the exchequer. If Britain follows the pattern of other countries, then the failure of Tory populism might not lead the public back to some kind of predictable centrism. No one will claim that Brexit is the reason the Conservative Party has just lost two by-elections and crowds at the Queen’s jubilee service booed Johnson when he arrived at the church. Partly because the role of Russian money and influence in the Brexit campaign has never been fully explained. Not too long ago, I heard one of the leading Brexiteers describe his political philosophy in a room full of CEOs and senior politicians. The energizing slogans of the Brexit campaign of 2016 sounded hollow and clichéd in 2022.

Boris Johnson is not a man currently without, as he might put it himself, a slew of significant botherations. But his biggest problem now, according to his ...

“He is going to have a very tough time of reckoning in the coming days and weeks,” Bower said. “There’ll be loads of people who will pay to hear his insights about governance or politics, certainly in the first couple of years. But even assuming it is tolerable, Johnson is used to having his housing, transport and a large part of his living costs covered by the taxpayer on top of his £155,376 salary as prime minister. For a man who bears grudges, it is the sharp bang back to earth that he will mind most keenly. What the wallpaper is like in Carrie’s Camberwell flat isn’t a matter of public record. Boris Johnson is not a man currently without, as he might put it himself, a slew of significant botherations.

Boris Johnson finally succumbed to political reality Thursday and resigned after the latest ethics scandal around his leadership led some 50 senior ...

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The party created a monster. It should not underestimate how hard it will be to stop him, even after he's prised from power, says Guardian columnist Gaby ...

So far, he has stopped short of attempting to mobilise the deranged strand of rightwing populism that constantly fears its Brexit is about to be stolen in some deep state Remainer plot. In his final hours he was visibly positioning himself to go full Trump, arguing that he was the people’s choice and only they can fire him. Even in his final hours he conceded that as foreign secretary he had met the former KGB agent Alexander Lebedev, the father of his friend (and the then owner of the Evening Standard) Evgeny Lebedev, without officials present in Italy at a time of high tensions with Moscow. This is the man we want to leave in charge of national security over summer? Convention may dictate that a prime minister who loses a vote of confidence carries on running the country, for the sake of continuity, until a successor is chosen. It should apologise for choosing a leader it knew to be a lightweight and a liar, who broke the law by partying through lockdown yet still reportedly thinks it appropriate to stage one last bash at Chequers on his way out. Johnson degraded the country he was elected to serve, and his legacy will be long painful years of fixing the damage done to almost every aspect of national life.

Josie Pagani has worked in politics, aid and development. OPINION: “People are revelling in Us against Them.” The description of Boris Johnson's government ...

“To offer a politics of hope, and a vision rooted in the lives of people.’’ Fissures are not as pronounced in New Zealand, but you can see the outline of culture wars in the tribal signals beginning to divide the country: Do you announce your pronouns at the end of your emails? The majority of new middle class votes go to Labour. The working class vote is a third smaller and more likely to vote Conservative, especially in small provincial towns. Although the theme of the London conference was the Future of Britain, the call to a radical centre resonates in New Zealand: “To be radical isn’t to be extreme. To be muscular doesn’t mean shutting out the vulnerable,” a paper accompanying the conference states. If he hasn't gone by the time this is published, it will only be because he is too much of a narcissist to understand the consequences of his behaviour.

Dishonesty has been the one constant in Johnson's career – in the end the deceit proved too much to bear.

In the end, Johnson, who had dreamed of a decade in Downing Street, will have occupied No 10 for a little over three years. Populists have no answer to a pandemic, for it requires the very things Johnson and his ilk lack and despise: hard work, a forensic grasp of detail, the wisdom of experts, human empathy, a spirit of self-sacrifice and, above all, rules. In 2016, it became part of a politics that sought to harness the energy of anti-politics, Johnson presenting himself as the fearless challenger to the Westminster consensus. In that respect at least, the US president was not wrong when he recognised in Johnson a kindred spirit, “Britain Trump”. His personal brand had long been a breezy disdain for the worker bees and “girly swots” who felt duty-bound to go through their papers, to read their briefs and master the details. In his case, it almost certainly began as an attention-catching strategy, a way of standing out from the crowd, whether at Eton – turning a failure to learn his lines for a school production of Richard II into slapstick comedy – or when seeking the top job at the Oxford Union. Trump had been a bigger star than Johnson – he had his own TV show, The Apprentice, while Johnson mainly had to make do with the odd panel appearance – but their appeal worked in similar ways. He had an approval rating of minus 20 (May’s had been minus seven). According to the election analyst Peter Kellner, “Johnson’s victory in 2019 owed less to his popularity than Jeremy Corbyn’s unpopularity.” For years, the conventional wisdom had held that “Boris” was the obvious choice for jester but an improbable king. That was bound to be Johnson. For more than two decades, ever since he had stolen the show on Have I Got News for You, Johnson had been the Tories’ guilty pleasure. None of this was a surprise, because dishonesty has been the one constant through Johnson’s career. He lied again when he told parliament he was shocked and “sickened” to discover parties had taken place in Downing Street, when he knew all too well they had taken place because he attended those parties himself.