Will UK PM Boris Johnson survive Brexit, resign or be booted from Number 10?

Young UK Conservatives call prime minister ‘incompetent’ and say it’s ‘time for him to go’

Johnson’s critics have hammered Britain’s leader over his handling of Brexit and the pandemic

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UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson at 10 Downing Street. Photo: DPA

Published: 3:46pm, 22 Oct 2020Updated: 6:16pm, 3 Nov 2020

Boris Johnson’s future as UK prime minister was coming under renewed discussion as members of his party openly criticise his leadership amid the economic fallout of the coronavirus pandemic and uncertainties of Brexit.

For months, there has been speculation that Johnson’s days in Number 10 Downing Street could be numbered because of his government’s haphazard management of the coronavirus pandemic that has created regional divisions in the country. The UK also has the highest coronavirus death toll in Europe.

But a tweet this week from the Manchester Young Conservatives declaring Johnson “incompetent” and “time for him to go” appeared to confirm that all was not fine among the country’s Tories.

Dissatisfaction with Johnson comes less than 12 months after he gave his Conservative Party a stunning 80 seat majority on the promise to get Brexit done. The UK and EU have just three weeks to work out its future trading relationship after a series of delays, disagreements and bluffing by Johnson.

Some observers have wondered if Johnson could resign, like former PM David Cameron did following the 2016 Brexit referendum, or if he would be pushed out like his political idol, the late Margaret Thatcher. There was also a scenario in which Johnson survived a rebellion by disgruntled members of his backbench and soldiered on as leader for months, possibly through years of UK economic turmoil.