United Kingdom Prime Minister Boris Johnson has resigned. This brings an end to a nearly three-year premiership that has been beset by controversy and scandal. Johnson said the process for choosing the new leader of the Conservative Party should begin now, with a timetable to be announced next week.
Johnson said he was “sad to be giving up the best job in the world,” but conceded that “no one is remotely indispensable” in politics. Referring to members of his own ruling party who turned against him, Johnson said: “At Westminster, the herd instinct is powerful and when the herd moves, it moves.”
It comes as the wave of resignations from Johnson’s government and party since Tuesday evening approached 60, with one Conservative Party member after another publicly voicing their lack of confidence in the prime minister.
Finance Minister Nadhim Zahawi was the latest of Johnson’s allies to urge him to “go now,” saying the unprecedented political crisis over his future was not sustainable and would “only get worse.” Remarkably, Zahawi’s call for Johnson to step down came just two days after the prime minister appointed him finance minister.
The relentless stream of resignations was dramatically kickstarted by Finance Minister Rishi Sunak and Health Secretary Sajid Javid. The two high-profile ministers quit within minutes of each on Tuesday evening following a dispute over Johnson’s decision to appoint Chris Pincher as deputy chief whip earlier this year.
Pincher resigned and was suspended as a Conservative Party MP last week, following accusations that he drunkenly groped two men at a private members’ club.
This story is Courtesy of CNBC
