Boris Johnson resigns, but remains UK PM until successor named
- PM Boris Johnson has agreed to resign, ending an unprecedented political crisis over his future
- It follows dozens of resignations since Tuesday by ministers of various ranks and their Tory MP aides
01:59
Boris Johnson resigns as British prime minister
British Prime Minister Boris Johnson announced his resignation as leader of the Conservative Party on Thursday after dozens of ministers abandoned his government this week following a series of bruising scandals.
Johnson, 58, made the announcement in a televised speech outside his Downing Street office, but said he would stay on as prime minister until a successor is named.
The timetable for a Conservative Party leadership race will be announced next week, he said. The leadership election will take place over the summer and the winner will replace Johnson by the party’s annual conference in early October, the BBC and others reported.
Leading candidates include Foreign Secretary Liz Truss, who has made a series of hawkish statements about China in recent months, Defence Secretary Ben Wallace and Rishi Sunak, who resigned as UK treasury chief on Tuesday.
“In the past few days, I have tried to convince my colleagues that it would be eccentric to change governments when we’re delivering so much, when we have such a vast mandate and when we’re actually only a handful of points behind in the polls, even in mid-term after quite a few months of relentless sledging and when the economic scene is so difficult domestically and internationally,” Johnson said. “I regret not to have been successful in those arguments and it’s painful not to be able to see through many ideas and projects myself.”
Johnson spoke for roughly six minutes and took no questions. He blamed the “herd instinct” in Westminster for his departure.