Boris Johnson resigns as British Prime Minister

Boris Johnson is being urged to leave his post immediately, amid fears of a ‘zombie government’ that would be paralysed at a time of economic crisis.

Prime Minister Boris Johnson reads a statement outside 10 Downing Street, formally resigning as Conservative Party leader. Picture: Getty Images

Boris Johnson is being urged to leave his post immediately, amid fears of a “zombie government” that would be paralysed at a time of strikes and economic crisis.

Mr Johnson resigned as British Prime Minister on Thursday night after losing the support of his ministry and party, and with the country at the mercy of a dysfunctional ­government, but vowed to stay on until a new leader was chosen.

Such was the febrile atmosphere, the ruling Tory party is looking to remove Mr Johnson immediately and appoint a caretaker prime minister until the leadership is determined in the next three months.

This is because there are so many ministerial vacancies to fill and no one wants to accept a position from the 58-year-old Mr Johnson. In that scenario, Deputy Prime Minister Dominic Raab is likely to take charge.

But Mr Johnson, who will fail to match the three years and 11 days of his predecessor Theresa May if he leaves 10 Downing Street this month, announced he would remain as Prime Minister until a successor was chosen.

However calls are now building for Mr Johnson to leave immediately, and for an acting leader to head the world’s fifth-largest economy. Conservative John Major, who was prime minister from 1990 to 1997, said Mr Johnson’s extended tenure -- and the vast powers that still go with it - was “unwise and may be unsustainable”.

A minister who resigned told The London Times: “I think [Johnson staying for months] is for the birds and they are all bonkers. I don’t understand what they’re doing. He can’t run a piss-up in a brewery and hasn’t been able to run one for six months so how on earth is Kit Malthouse [the new Cabinet Office minister] supposed to make No 10 functional?”

Boris Johnson during his address. Picture: Getty Images

Mr Johnson announced his resignation after 48 hours of convulsive political drama during which more than 60 frontbenchers resigned, his cabinet descended into open revolt and rivals declared their leadership ambitions live on television.

In a short but defiant lunchtime address to the nation, Mr Johnson said: “To the British public, there will be many people relieved and quite a few disappointed and I want you to know how sad I am to give up the best job in the world – them’s the breaks.’’

Mr Johnson, who on Wednesday night had told colleagues they would have to “dip hands in blood” to get rid of him, was forced out when it was clear he had next to no support. Fewer than 65 of the 360 Tory MPs were backing him, making his administration untenable and unworkable.

Leadership contenders include Foreign Secretary Liz Truss, ­Defence Secretary Ben Wallace, Chancellor of the Exchequer ­Nadhim Zahawi and his predecessor Rishi Sunak, former health secretary Sajid Javid, Trade ­Minister Penny Mordaunt and ­Attorney-General Suella Braverman, who declared her ambitions on television. Ms Truss was planning to cut short her visit to Indonesia, where she was attending the G20 foreign ministers meeting, in order to return to London.

Liz Truss. Picture: Getty Images

Ben Wallace. Picture: Getty Images

Mr Johnson said he had fought hard in the past few days to stay as Prime Minister to be able to deliver the election mandate he had received in 2019. “I felt it was my job, my duty and obligation to you to continue to do what was promised in 2019,’’ he said.

He listed his achievements as resetting relations with Europe, recovering British laws, delivering the fastest vaccine rollout in the world and the fastest exit from ­coronavirus lockdown, and standing up to Vladimir Putin’s aggression in Ukraine.

Mr Johnson said he tried to persuade parliamentary colleagues that the Tory party was only a few points behind in the polls despite “months of sledging” and economic circumstances but eventually had to bow to the inevitable.

“I regret it is painful not to see through so many ideas and projects myself, but I have seen at Westminster the instinct is powerful and when the herd moves, it moves,” he said.

US President Joe Biden said the US relationship with the UK would “remain strong” but failed to name Mr Johnson in a short statement marking the end of the British leader’s prime ministership, suggesting the US president hadn’t warmed to the flamboyant conservative party leader, whom the president once called a “clone” of Donald Trump.

Tory MPs had been furious at the repeated lies and scandals that have enveloped the party in the past 12 months – from the sleazy behaviour of Deputy Chief Whip Christopher Pincher, to the Party­gate drinking scandal during the national Covid-19 lockdown and the rule-breaking lobbying of former minister Owen Paterson.

On each occasion, the various versions of what happened, briefed by 10 Downing Street, were ­proven to be wrong.

Labour leader Keir Starmer said Mr Johnson should have ­resigned long ago.

“He was always unfit for office. He has been responsible for lies, scandal and fraud on an industrial scale,” Sir Keir said. “And all those who have been complicit should be utterly ashamed.”

Penny Mordaunt. Picture: Getty Images

Nadhim Zahawi. Picture: Getty Images

Sir Keir said he would bring forward a vote of no confidence in the House of Commons if Mr Johnson tried to remain in power for the next few months until a new leader was appointed.

He said Mr Johnson “needs to go completely, not this nonsense to hang on for a few months’’, insisting that the government was “not functioning”.

If such a vote took place, Mr Johnson would face the embarrassment of scores of Tory MPs crossing the floor and the possibility of a general election.

Mr Johnson realised his tenuous grip on power had dissolved when, on Thursday morning, two ministers he had promoted to key roles just hours earlier openly ­defied him and told him to leave.

Mr Zahawi, elevated to the key economic post on Tuesday after the resignation of Mr Sunak, was scheduled to make a significant announcement about dealing with the cost-of-living crisis on Thursday but instead tweeted “You must do the right thing and go now”.

The Chancellor has been getting backroom advice from Mark Fullbrook, the one-time business partner of Australian electioneering strategist Lynton Crosby, who had helped steer Mr Johnson’s London mayoral and parliamentary electoral successes.

Another fresh appointment, Michelle Donelan resigned 24 hours after being promoted to cabinet as Education Minister.

In his desperation to hold on to power on Wednesday night, Mr Johnson sacked cabinet minister Michael Gove by ­telephone after the Levelling Up Secretary had made it publicly known that he had told his Brexit ally to quit.