LONDON –
British Prime Minister Boris Johnson resigned on Thursday, acknowledging that it was “clearly the will” of his party for him to leave.
He stepped down immediately as leader of his Conservative Party, but plans to remain prime minister while the leadership contest takes place. He said that he has appointed a new cabinet after a multitude of resignations, but many are calling for him to leave now.
It is a humiliating defeat for Johnson, who managed to get Britain out of the European Union and has been credited with launching one of the world’s most successful mass vaccination campaigns to combat COVID-19.
The announcement came after the latest ethics scandal surrounding Johnson’s leadership led some 50 senior lawmakers to resign from the government and left him unable to govern.
Speaking outside 10 Downing St., Johnson said he was “immensely proud of the achievements of this government,” from Brexit to guiding the country through the pandemic to leading the West in dealing with the Russian invasion of Ukraine.
But he acknowledged that “in politics no one is even remotely indispensable.”
Johnson clung to power for two days, defiantly telling lawmakers on Wednesday that he had a “colossal mandate” from voters and intended to get on with government business.
But he was forced to concede defeat on Thursday morning after two more members of his cabinet resigned and one of his closest allies, Treasury chief Nadhim Zahawi, publicly told him to step down for the good of the country.
The internal election to choose a new leader of the Conservative Party, who will also be the next prime minister, is likely to take place during the summer.
Zahawi, who was promoted earlier this week as Johnson tried to shore up his cabinet, said he and a group of colleagues privately raised their concerns with the prime minister on Wednesday and decided to go public after Johnson ignored advice to resign.
“I am heartbroken that you have not listened to me and are now undermining the incredible achievements of this government,” Zahawi said in a letter posted on Twitter. “But the country deserves a government that is not only stable, but acts with integrity.”
The resignations on Thursday morning meant that 50 cabinet secretaries, ministers and lower-level officials resigned from the government for two days, often criticizing the prime minister for his lack of integrity. With more than 20 vacant seats, the crisis had stalled the work of some parliamentary committees because there were no ministers available to speak on behalf of the government.
Johnson led Britain through Brexit and the COVID-19 pandemic, scoring a major election victory in 2019. But the perpetually disheveled leader known for greeting critics with bombast and bluster was also dogged by criticism he was willing to bend, and sometimes break, the rules to achieve their goals.
Johnson, 58, managed to stay in power for almost three years, despite accusations that he was too close to party donors, that he shielded his supporters from allegations of intimidation and corruption, and that he misled to Parliament on the parties in government offices that violated the confinement rules due to the pandemic.
Recent revelations that Johnson knew about sexual misconduct allegations against a Conservative lawmaker before he promoted him to a senior government post turned out to be one more scandal.
The crisis began when Chris Pincher resigned as deputy whip chief amid allegations that he had groped two men at a private club. That triggered a series of reports about past allegations against Pincher.
Johnson tried to deflect criticism with shifting explanations about what he knew and when he knew it, but that only highlighted concerns that the prime minister could not be trusted.
Health Secretary Sajid Javid and Treasury chief Rishi Sunak resigned within minutes of each other on Tuesday night, prompting a wave of departures among their cabinet colleagues and lower-level officials.
Javid captured the mood of many lawmakers when he said Johnson’s actions threatened to undermine the integrity of the Conservative Party and the British government.
“At some point we have to conclude that enough is enough,” he told the House of Commons on Wednesday. “I think that point is now.”