Embattled UK PM to step down
Cabinet ministers have resigned en masse
LONDON (AP) – British Prime Minister Boris Johnson agreed to resign yesterday after days of defections crippled the controversial leader and left him unable to govern.
Johnson finally agreed to step down after one of his closest allies, Treasury Chief Nadhim Zahawi, told the prime minister to resign for the good of the country. It was not immediately clear whether Johnson will stay in office while the Conservative Party chooses a new leader, who will automatically become prime minister as well. A formal announcement is expected today.
“Prime Minister, this is not sustainable and it will only get worse for you, for the Conservative Party and most importantly of all the country,” Zahawi said in a letter to Johnson. “You must do the right thing and go now.”
Zahawi’s intervention came after two more members of Johnson’s Cabinet resigned, along with three junior officials, pushing the number of those who have left the government this week past 50.
Johnson on Wednesday rejected calls to resign, arguing that he had a mandate from the voters to remain in office. But by yesterday morning the man who has built a reputation for wriggling out of political controversies was forced to admit the reality of his situation.
Bernard Jenkin, a senior Conservative Party lawmaker, said he met with Johnson on Wednesday and advised him to stand down.
“I just said to him, ‘Look, it’s just when you go now, and it’s how you go. You can go with some dignity or you can be forced out like Donald Trump, clinging to power and pretending he’s won the election when he’s lost,’’ Jenkin told the BBC before Johnson agreed to resign.