Boris Johnson Will Resign as Conservative Party Leader

Boris Johnson Will Resign as Conservative Party Leader

Prime Minister Boris Johnson of Britain will resign as Conservative Party leader on Thursday.

This week he has been besieged by a wave of government resignations and a devastating loss of party support, prompted by his handling of the party’s latest sex-and-bullying scandal.

“Johnson plans to stay on in the role of prime minister until a successor is in place, likely in the fall, according to a senior official familiar with the plans, who spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss sensitive subject. But there was no indication of whether his party’s lawmakers, many of whom have turned against him, would go along with that. Downing Street said that he planned to make a statement to the country later on Thursday,” reports the New York Times.

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Johnson’s forced resignation was first reported Thursday by the BBC.  The final straw was Tuesday evening with the unexpected resignation of two of his highest-ranking ministers, the chancellor of the Exchequer, Rishi Sunak, and the health secretary, Sajid Javid.

That was followed by a flurry of resignation announcements from other lawmakers and officials all day Wednesday and on Thursday morning.

 

What Happens Next?

BBC reports:

How do the Conservatives elect a new leader?

Once a Conservative leader has stood down, an election for a new party leader is triggered. Under the current rules, candidates need the support of eight Conservative MPs to stand.

Once all the candidates have declared - if there are more than two candidates - Tory MPs will hold a series of votes until only two remain.

in the first round, candidates must get 5% of the votes to stay in the running (currently 18 MPs)
in the second round, they must get 10% (currently 36 MPs)
in the following rounds, the candidate with the least number of votes is eliminated

When two MPs are left, all Conservative Party members around the country - so not just MPs - will vote for the winner.

The timescale for each contest is decided by the 1922 Committee of backbench MPs, and the committee could vote to change the rules before the contest takes place.