After dozens of ministers left his scandal-plagued government, Boris Johnson’s resignation as the head of the British Conservative party on Thursday made way for the appointment of a new prime minister.
According to Mr. Johnson, outside 10 Downing Street, “it is plainly the will of the parliamentary Conservative party that there should be a new leader of that party, and thus a new prime minister.”
After his top team abruptly quit in protest of his leadership, Mr. Johnson, 58, announced his resignation. He said he would remain as prime minister until a replacement is found.
Johnson’s probable departure had been welcomed by opposition Labour leader Keir Starmer in the hectic hours leading up to his announcement.
Instead of Mr. Johnson “clinging on for months and months,” Mr. Starmer said that “a true change of administration” was required and requested a no-confidence vote in parliament, which could lead to a general election.
On Thursday, Mr. Johnson made a number of appointments to replace the outgoing cabinet members even as he was considering leaving.
A parliamentary investigation will look into whether the Prime Minister lied to MPs about the revelations after receiving a police fine for the “Partygate” incident, which resulted in the Covid lockdown being broken.
A no-confidence vote among Conservative MPs that he narrowly avoided last month would typically prevent him from facing another challenge for a year.
Greg Clark, a staunch supporter of the United Kingdom remaining in the European Union, was among them. Mr. Johnson had pushed for this.
According to a YouGov poll of Conservative party members, Ben Wallace, the defence minister, and Rishi Sunak, whose resignation as finance minister on Tuesday started the exodus, were among the early frontrunners to follow Mr. Johnson.
Once Tory MPs have reduced the field to a final two, those members will elect the next leader.
