British Prime Minister Boris Johnson announced his resignation on Thursday, though he will stay on as a caretaker prime minister until a successor is found, which will likely happen this summer.
The move comes after more than 50 ministers and senior aides stepped down in recent days following a series of scandals that left little to no confidence in the British leader.
Last month, Johnson faced a no-confidence vote sparked by members of his Conservative Party after he was found to have broken the law by attending several social gatherings during the country's strict COVID-19 lockdown. He survived the vote, but the "partygate" scandal over the events at No. 10 Downing Street severely damaged his popularity.
He came under renewed pressure to resign earlier this weekafter his spokesperson admitted Johnson had been made aware of a sexual misconduct complaint against Conservative MP Chris Pincher in 2019 — but later "forgot" about it and appointed him to a senior government position. Pincher resigned last week after new allegations were leveled against him.
Those revelations prompted Health Secretary Sajid Javid and Chancellor Rishi Sunak, two of the country's top Cabinet ministers, as well as dozens of junior ministers to leave their posts, saying they no longer had confidence in Johnson's leadership. (Axios)
Opposition Labour party leader Keir Starmer called on Johnson to leave immediately.
Conservatives "can't inflict him on the country for the next few months," he told Sky News. "If they don't get rid of him, we will bring that vote of no confidence in the national interest because we can't go on with this broken government, led by this discredited Prime Minister."
According to the BBC, “a new prime minister will be in place for the party conference in October.”
In the meantime, Johnson has been appointing a number of new cabinet ministers, making the announcements on Twitter.
Update:
In a statement, Johnson acknowledged he was unsuccessful convincing colleagues to say, noting, "The herd instinct is powerful and when the herd moves, it moves."
The Prime Minister @BorisJohnson makes a statement. https://t.co/EfgXuyazjw
— UK Prime Minister (@10DowningStreet) July 7, 2022
UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson, resigning: "It is clearly now the will of the parliamentary Conservative Party that there should be a new leader of that party, and therefore a new prime minister ... And the timetable will be announced next week." pic.twitter.com/tyP5vg13XI
— The Recount (@therecount) July 7, 2022
Johnson said he tried to convince colleagues it would be “eccentric” to change government now
— Sam Coates Sky (@SamCoatesSky) July 7, 2022
But has not been successful in those arguments and says it is “painful”
Says “when the herd moves is moves” and in our system “no-one is indispensable”
Editor's note: This is a breaking news post and will be updated with additional information.