UK Prime Minister boris johnson is facing his biggest crisis yetafter two senior Cabinet ministers resigned on Tuesday.
Health Secretary Sajid Javid and Chancellor of the Exchequer Rishi Sunak have resigned after days of mounting pressure in Downing Street over its handling of allegations of sexual misconduct by a member of the government.
Johnson has weathered multiple storms during his time as prime minister, but this may be one crisis too many.
This is what you need to know.
HOW DID WE GET HERE?
The immediate cause of the crisis was the fallout from the resignation last Thursday of Deputy Chief Chris Pincher, amid allegations that he had groped two guests at a private dinner the night before.
What got Johnson into deeper trouble, however, was the contortions Downing Street press officers got into in trying to explain why Pincher was ever in government in the first place.
At first, when new reports emerged about Pincher’s historical conduct in light of his resignation, Downing Street denied that the prime minister knew anything about the allegations, which related to Pincher’s time as a Foreign Office minister.
When it became clear that this would not stand, Johnson’s team said that they were aware of the historic allegations, but that they had been “settled”.
When it emerged that one of the previously unreported allegations against Pincher had been confirmed, Johnson’s spokesman explained that “resolved” could mean that it had been confirmed.
Then on Tuesday morning, Simon McDonald, a former senior Foreign Office official, revealed that Johnson had been briefed in person on the outcome of an investigation into Pincher’s conduct, prompting a wave of resignations over the course of the day. .
WHAT HAPPENS NEXT?
Boris Johnson is still in control of his own destiny…for now.
Conservative Party rules dictate that if a leader wins a vote of confidence, then he is immune from further challenge for 12 months. Johnson survived a confidence vote on June 6.
However, the current crisis is so deep that it is possible that the Conservative MPs Committee of the 1922 parliament could rewrite the rules to get rid of the prime minister.
The 1922 executive is expected to meet on Wednesday to set a date for elections to its committee. If a large enough number of anti-Johnson MPs are elected to the executive, then the chances of the rules changing increase dramatically.
Until then, the real question is how much public humiliation can the prime minister take?
More ministers are almost certain to resign and opposition sources are talking about the possibility of defections.
WHAT HAPPENS IF JOHNSON SIGNS UP?
In the UK, the resignation of a Prime Minister does not automatically trigger a general election.
If Johnson resigned, the Conservative Party would hold an internal election to choose a new leader, who would then become Prime Minister.
Johnson would likely remain in office until his successor was chosen, much like his predecessors Theresa May and David Cameron when they resigned in May 2019 and June 2016, respectively.
Barring another resignation or snap election, the new Prime Minister would lead the UK until the next scheduled election in 2024.