UK PM Johnson steps down as Conservative leader

Boris Johnson resigned on Thursday as leader of Britains Conservative party paving the way for the selection of a new prime minister after dozens of ministers quit his scandalhit governmentIt is clearly the will of the parliamentary Conservative party that there should be a new leader of that party and therefore a new prime minister Johnson said outside 10 Downing StreetJohnson 58 announced that he would step down after a slew of resignations from his top team in protest at his leadership but would stay on as prime minister until a replacement is foundThe timetable for a Tory leadership race will be announced next week he said after three tumultuous years in office defined by Brexit the Covid pandemic and nonstop controversy over his reputation for mendacityThe leadership election will take place over the summer and the victor will replace Johnson by the partys annual conference in early October the BBC and others reportedHe said he was sad to be giving up the best job in the world and justified fighting on in the final hours to deliver the mandate he won in a general election in December 2019In the frenzied hours building up to Johnsons announcement opposition Labour leader Keir Starmer had welcomed his impending departureBut Starmer said a proper change of government was needed and demanded a noconfidence vote in parliament potentially triggering a general election rather than Johnson clinging on for months and monthsEven while eyeing the exit Johnson on Thursday sought to steady the ship with several appointments to replace the departed cabinet membersThey included Greg Clark an arch remainder opposed to Britains divorce from the European Union which Johnson had championedJohnson had been clinging on to power despite a wave of more than 50 government resignations expressing defiance late WednesdayBut Thursdays departure of education minister Michelle Donelan and a plea to quit from finance minister Nadhim Zahawi only in their jobs for two days appeared to tip the balance along with warnings of a new noconfidence vote by Tory MPsNo functioning governmentDefense minister Ben Wallace and Rishi Sunak whose departure as finance minister on Tuesday sparked the exodus were among the early frontrunners to succeed Johnson according to a YouGov survey of Conservative party membersThose members will decide the new leader once Tory MPs have whittled down the contenders to a final twoNorthern Ireland minister Brandon Lewis kicked of Thursdays frenzied events becoming the fourth cabinet minister to resign and writing that Johnson was past the point of no returnJohnson late on Wednesday defiantly responded to calls from his loyalists and cabinet colleagues to step down by sacking minister Michael Gove with a Downing Street source telling media that his former Brexit top ally was a snakeThe Sun newspaper said Johnson had told colleagues they would have to dip their hands in blood to push him out of office but Thursdays events forced his hand The shock resignations of Sunak and Health Secretary Sajid Javid late Tuesday set off a chain of othersThey quit after Johnson apologised for his February appointment of senior Conservative MP Chris Pincher as deputy chief whip Pincher was forced to step down following accusations he drunkenly groped two menDays of shifing explanations followed the resignation before Downing Street finally conceded that Johnson had known about Pinchers behaviour as far back as 2019Tory critics said the Pincher affair had tipped many over the edge angry at having to defend what they saw as more lies by Johnson over his appointment of what Starmer called a sexual predatorJohnson was confronted by members of his cabinet on Wednesday when he returned to Downing Street from a lengthy grilling by a parliamentary committeeThe delegation was said to include hardline interior minister Priti Patel Bye BorisAttorney General Suella Braverman told ITV that while she would not resign the balance has tipped now in favour of saying its time to goShe became the first Tory to say she would stand in a leadership contest but is a rank outsider according to bookmakersA culture of scandal has dogged Johnson for months including lockdownbreaking parties in Downing StreetThe prime minister who received a police fine for the Covid lockdownbreaking Partygate afair faces a parliamentary probe into whether he lied to MPs about the revelationsHe only narrowly survived a noconfidence vote among Conservative MPs a month ago which ordinarily would mean he could not be challenged again for another year But the influential 1922 Committee of nonministerial Tory MPs is reportedly seeking to change the rules with its executive committee planning to elect a fresh lineup of members next weekIn parliament on Wednesday Johnson vowed to carry on insisting the country needed a stable governmentBut addressing MPs Javid urged other ministers to resign The problem starts at the top and I believe that is not going to change he told a hushedHouse of Commons Cries of bye Boris echoed around the chamber at the end of his speechThis story has been sourced from a third party syndicated feed agencies Midday accepts no responsibility or liability for its dependability trustworthiness reliability and data of the text Midday managementmiddaycom reserves the sole right to alter delete or remove without notice the content in its absolute discretion for any reason whatsoever