UK: Why Boris Johnson resigns as Prime Minister [What caused it]

Boris Johnson resigns as Prime Minister of the UK.

UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson has announced his resignation as Conservative party leader following a wave of government resignations.

“It is clearly now the will of the parliamentary Conservative party that there should be a new leader of that party and therefore a new prime minister,” he said on Thursday.

“I’d agreed with Sir Graham Brady, the chairman of our backbench MPs, that the process of choosing that new leader should begin now. And the timetable will be announced next week.”

“So I want to say to the millions of people who voted for us in 2019, many of them voted Conservative, for the first time. Thank you for that incredible mandate. The biggest Conservative majority, since 1987,” he added.

As recently as last night Johnson said he intended to stay and fight. But the avalanche of resignations from government ministers continued through to Thursday, with letter after letter criticizing the scandal-hit leader and imploring Johnson to step down.

Johnson’s departure marks a remarkable downfall for a Prime Minister who was once seen as having political superpowers, with an appeal that transcended traditional party lines.

He won a landslide victory in December 2019 on the promise of delivering a Brexit deal and leading the UK to a bright future outside the European Union.

But his premiership unraveled in the aftermath of the Covid-19 pandemic.

The most immediate cause of his demise was the fallout from Johnson’s botched handling of a scandal surrounding a government official who is alleged to have groped two people at a dinner last week.

But Johnson has faced numerous other scandals that have hit his standing in the polls — despite his 80-seat landslide general election victory less than three years ago.

These include accusations of using donor money inappropriately to pay for a refurbishment of his Downing Street home and ordering MPs to vote in such a way that would protect a colleague who had breached lobbying rules.

What caused Boris Johnson’s Resignation

1, Lack of focus and ideas:

Boris Johnson won his thumping majority on the back of a clear, easy-to-follow policy – Get Brexit Done.

But since then, his critics said, there was a lack of focus and ideas in Downing Street.

His ex-adviser turned chief critic, Dominic Cummings, repeatedly accused him of being an out-of-control shopping trolley, veering from position to position.

2, Owen Paterson row

In October 2021, a House of Commons committee recommended a 30-day suspension for then-Conservative MP Owen Paterson.

The committee said he broke lobbying rules, to try to benefit companies who paid him.

But the Conservatives – led by the prime minister – voted to pause his suspension, and set up a new committee to look at how investigations were carried out.

After an outcry, Mr Paterson ended up resigning. Mr Johnson later admitted he had “crashed the car” in his handling of the case.

3, Rise in taxes and high cost of living

Inflation has risen sharply in 2022, to the current rate of 9.1%.

Many of the reasons were outside of Boris Johnson’s control. Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, for example, has led to rises in oil prices and the cost of food.

And, while the government has taken some steps – for example, by cutting fuel duty by 5p per litre – it also went ahead with a tax rise in April. National Insurance went up by 1.25 pence in the pound.

4, The Chris Pincher affair

On Wednesday 29 June, the MP Chris Pincher – at the time, the Conservative deputy chief whip – went to a private members’ club in London. In his words, he “drank far too much” and “embarrassed himself”.

He was accused of groping two men, which led to flurry of allegations, some dating back years. It set off a chain of events that ended with the prime minister’s downfall.

First, Downing Street said Mr Johnson was not aware of “specific allegations” about Mr Pincher before appointing him as deputy chief whip in February. Ministers later reiterated this line – even though it turned out to be inaccurate.

On 4 July, the BBC reported Mr Johnson had been aware of a formal complaint. The next day, a former civil servant – Lord McDonald – said the prime minister had been told of the complaint in person.

Mr Johnson then admitted he had been told in 2019, and apologised for appointing Mr Pincher as deputy chief whip.

In April this year, the prime minister was fined for breaking lockdown rules, after attending a gathering on his birthday in June 2020.

Credit: BBC.COM, CCN.COM