Britain: Johnson resigns as party leader

The pressure had become too great: Great Britain’s Prime Minister Johnson resigned as head of his Conservative Party. But he wants to continue as prime minister until a successor is elected.

British Prime Minister Boris Johnson has announced his resignation as leader of the Conservative Tory party. However, he wants to remain prime minister until a successor is found, Johnson said in a speech. He was sad to have to give up “the best job in the world”.

However, numerous party friends are calling for Johnson to step down as head of government immediately. The opposition is demanding a new election. Potential successors to Johnson include Secretary of State Liz Truss and Secretary of Defense Ben Wallace.

Dozens of resignations in the past few days

The prime minister had come under massive pressure in the past few days. After a series of scandals, more than 50 government employees, including several ministers, have resigned since Tuesday evening in protest against Johnson. The new Minister of Education, Michelle Donelan, who was appointed just two days ago after the resignation of her predecessor, also resigned in the morning.

A few minutes earlier, Finance Minister Nadhim Zahawi, who had also been appointed by Johnson just two days earlier, had asked the 58-year-old to resign.

Cabinet reshuffled

Shortly before resigning, Johnson filled several cabinet posts. He put his longtime confidants James Cleverly and Rit Malthouse in charge of the Department of Education and the Cabinet Office, respectively. He appointed the former Minister for Economic Affairs Greg Clark, a Brexit opponent, Minister for Leveling Up, i.e. the harmonization of living conditions. Former Justice Secretary Robert Buckland, whom Johnson only fired in September 2021, became Minister of State for Wales.

Labor leader Keir Starmer welcomed Johnson’s resignation. However, he demanded that a “fresh start” was now necessary. “We need a Labor government,” Starmer said. “We are ready.”

Misconduct long denied

The most recent government crisis in Westminster was triggered by an affair involving Johnson’s party colleague Chris Pincher, who is accused of sexual harassment. It was previously revealed that Johnson knew about the allegations against Pincher before he promoted him to a key faction office. His spokesman had previously denied this several times.

However, the affair is probably just the straw that broke the camel’s back. Johnson has been under massive criticism for months for illegal lockdown parties during the pandemic at Downing Street, the seat of government. He himself received a police warrant for attending one of the illegal gatherings, making him the first British head of government to have committed a criminal offense while in office. Nevertheless, he denied any wrongdoing for a long time.