Boris Johnson resigned dramatically as prime minister after a massive march of MPs finally sealed his fate, signaling the end of one of the most divisive and turbulent periods in British politics.
In a speech to Downing Street on Thursday that was tinged with bitterness, he blamed ministers for turning against him, but expressed neither regret nor contrition over his mistakes.
The abrupt outcome started a struggle between the candidates to take over on Downing Street, and the demands of some MPs to leave now and not wait until the leadership elections are over.
Johnson told a newly-arranged interim cabinet Thursday afternoon that no major policies, tax decisions or other changes of direction would be made before the handover to a new leader.
The day of the drama in Westminster began with the resignation of more Johnson ministers to try to force him to leave, including Michelle Donelan, who just two days earlier had held the post of secretary of education.
Johnson called Graham Brady, chairman of the 1922 Committee on the back bench, early Thursday morning, and left No. 10 at lunchtime to publicly acknowledge that he had lost the support of his party.
His term as prime minister, which will last only three years, was overshadowed by the catastrophic Covid crisis, and was affected by persistent allegations of scandal, which saw the resignation of two ethics advisers. .
But in his speech, delivered when his wife, Carrie, was nearby holding his young daughter, Johnson called his colleagues’ decision to evict him “eccentric,” and suggested they had been pushed. for a herd mentality.
“In recent days I have tried to persuade my colleagues that it would be eccentric to change government when we are giving so much and when we have such an extensive mandate and when in reality we are only a few points behind in the polls.” He said.
“As we have seen in Westminster, the herd is powerful, and when the herd moves, it moves.”
Johnson did not apologize for any of the self-inflicted scandals that caused his party to turn against him, including hiring an alleged sexual predator, Chris Pincher, as deputy director.
Instead, Johnson highlighted the “incredible mandate” his party won in the 2019 general election and policies such as the deployment of the vaccine and the Brexit deal.
His statement followed an extraordinary confrontation with his own cabinet. In the late hours of Wednesday evening, his aides insisted he would stay and fight despite a delegation of ministers urging him to leave and dozens of leaders resigning.
But as resignations picked up the pace to top 50 on Thursday morning, even Nadhim Zahawi, appointed chancellor just two days earlier, publicly called for him to leave, Johnson agreed to step aside. Johnson will remain while another prime minister is elected.
Zahawi has prepared a well-organized leadership campaign, advised by an ally of election guru Lynton Crosby. He has signed a number of MPs to support it, including a significant count of those who resigned from the government in recent days, in an effort to show that it was only maintained in the national interest.
Other candidates who called deputies over Thursday included Rishi Sunak, the former chancellor, and Sajid Javid, the former health secretary, who both resigned on Tuesday.
But lawmakers say another well-organized campaign belongs to Tom Tugendhat, now considered the favorite of moderate conservatives, ahead of Jeremy Hunt. Tugendhat has set up a supporters ’steering committee and his supporters include former cabinet minister Damian Green and“ red wall ”MP Aaron Bell.
Tugendhat confirmed he would show up on Thursday evening, after talks with allies to determine if he had the numbers to present a challenge.
The chairman of the Commons Foreign Affairs Committee, who has never been in government, said he would offer the party a “clean start”.
Writing in the Daily Telegraph, he said: “I am bringing together a broad coalition of colleagues who will bring new energies and ideas to the government and finally to bridge the Brexit gap that has dominated our recent history.
“I have served before, in the army, and now in parliament. Now I hope to respond to the call once again as prime minister. It’s time to start clean. It’s time for renewal.”
Attorney General Suella Braverman, whose campaign will be led by her former private parliamentary secretary Jason McCartney, has met with right-wing Common Sense Group MPs to get the mantle of the real Brexiter in the contest , which his supporters say he will try to steal from Sunak.
Johnson will remain in place until the party chooses a new leader, a process the 1922 Committee hopes to conclude as soon as possible. On the Downing Street podium, Johnson was “sad to have given up the best job in the world,” but “they’re the breaks.”
The prime minister was photographed hugging his family at number 10 after his speech, carrying his son Wilfred as he kissed Carrie, who was holding his nine-month-old daughter, Romy.
Former Prime Minister Sir John Major intervened to demand that Johnson be removed immediately, but several moderate Conservatives, including Greg Clark and Robert Buckland, agreed to serve in a provisional cabinet, helping to convince MPs to allow Johnson to continue in office. .
Labor leader Keir Starmer said his party would file a motion of censure on the government in the House of Commons if Johnson did not withdraw immediately.
“Must go; it cannot be clung to in this way. His own party has now decided he is not fit to be prime minister. Now they can’t inflict it on the country in the coming months, “he said.
“If it is not undone, then Labor will take a step, in the national interest, and bring a vote of censure, because we cannot continue with this Prime Minister clinging for months and months. ”
The motion is scheduled to be voted on next week. The government is almost certain to win, given the comfortable majority of Conservatives, but Labor will hope to gain political capital by forcing MPs to support Johnson in the voting lobbies.
The cabinet reshuffle took place in the last hour before Johnson’s resignation speech, with James Cleverly taking over as secretary of education and the loyal Kit Malthouse becoming chancellor of the duchy of Lancaster.
Buckland will be the Welsh secretary and Clark will be in charge of raising the bar, replacing Michael Gove, who was mercilessly fired by Johnson on Wednesday night as he struggled to save his post as prime minister.
The new cabinet met Thursday afternoon. An official reading said Johnson had “made it clear that the government would not try to implement new policies or make major changes in direction, but would focus on delivering the agenda on which the government was elected. It said the decisions important prosecutors should be left for the next prime minister. “
Twelve younger appointments were announced on Thursday, some of those who resigned earlier in the week accepted their former jobs. Among them is Youth Minister Will Quince, who resigned after being sent to confront the media with false information about what Johnson knew about Pincher’s past.
Even members of the government were shocked by the speed of Johnson’s final demise, after months of morale-ridden scandals, including Partygate and the failed bid to protect fund deputy Owen Paterson, who left find that he had participated in a paid lobby.
One warned that if Johnson did not agree to go, he would run the risk of “becoming a trumpeter.”