‘Immensely proud’
BORIS Johnson yesterday quit as Tory leader after admitting he failed to persuade Cabinet colleagues that he could fight on.
The Prime Minister said it was “eccentric” to change governments at this stage but “I regret not to have been successful in those arguments”.
A new Tory leader will now be elected who will replace Mr Johnson in No 10.
“In politics, no one is remotely indispensable,” he acknowledged in a statement delivered from a lectern in Downing Street.
“I want you to know how sad I am to be giving up the best job in the world, but them’s the breaks,” he said.
Mr Johnson intends to remain in No 10 until his successor is elected, but he faces resistance to that plan from within his own party and the Opposition.
Many Teesside MPs have been reacting to the news, with some saying they were “deeply saddened” by his resignation and others adding that they can hear the “collective sigh of relief from the country.”
Redcar MP Jacob Young was one of the people who wrote a letter calling on the Prime Minister to step aside, and in the wake of Johnson’s announcement, said it was a “disappointing day for Teesside.”
Simon Clarke, MP for Middlesbrough South and East Cleveland and Chief Secretary to the Treasury, said: “I am deeply saddened but this is the right decision. The country needs ministers in key posts to govern but this situation is impossible.
“Boris Johnson has done some incredible things,” he added, “delivering Brexit, guiding us through the pandemic and leading the West’s response to Ukraine.”
Alex Cunningham, Labour MP for Stockton North, said: “Boris Johnson’s resignation is welcome but long overdue for a man who has presided over sleaze and scandal at every turn. We also don’t know when he will actually vacate the Number 10, causing more uncertainty for our country. He should be leaving now.
“Every single Cabinet Member, Minister and Conservative MP have known all along who this Prime Minister is. They have been his willing cheerleaders throughout this sorry saga of sleaze and scandal.
“They’ve resigned because the game was up and they wanted to save their skins. And all the while the cost of living crisis is biting hard and people are struggling to pay bills and afford basic groceries.
“The Conservative Party has presided over 12 years of economic stagnation, declining services and empty promises. Meanwhile child poverty is up and people are facing real-time cuts to their wages.
“A new Tory Prime Minister won’t solve the issues facing people in Stockton North and beyond. They all need to go.”
Andy McDonald, Labour MP for Middlesbrough, said: “The worst Prime Minister this country has ever had is finally going. You can hear the collective sigh of relief from the country. His sense of entitlement and thirst for power saw him cling on long after he should have resigned. Undignified to the end.
“It’s a massively damning indictment of Conservative MPs that it has taken them so long to do the right thing and speak out. The Tories have always known who he was and yet have put up with him whilst they thought he was an asset.
“They cynically traded truth, honesty and morality for power.
“The damage Boris Johnson has done to democracy is shameful.
“He leaves behind a legacy of lies, corruption and greed.”
Hartlepool MP Jill Mortimer said she was “deeply saddened” by what was happening to her party. “In spite of his getting the big calls right over the past two years, I believe the Prime Minister is in an untenable position.
“I have been loyal throughout but the most recent issues have brought me to the inevitable conclusion that we need a new leader – most of all because we need to stop this situation and get our national focus back on to the issues that matter to people as we face the current difficult challenges.”
Business Secretary Kwasi Kwarteng, who was visiting Teesside yesterday to mark the ground-breaking of SeAH’s new wind factory, said the situation was “depressing and while Westminster might be “a mess”, today’s legacy of jobs and investment on Teesside would “outlast any PM”.
Tees Valley Mayor Ben Houchen said it was “a sad end” for the Prime Minister.
He added: “It’s typical Westminster navel-gazing - for the next two or three months all they’re going to be talking about is leadership contests.
“The interesting thing for me now is who is going to be the one that is going to continue the work that, to be fair, he started in Teesside.
“Are we going to get someone equally supportive of levelling up, Teesworks, and the projects across the Tees Valley? That remains to be seen and I’ll be watching very closely.
“My support will be entirely dependent on someone giving the same level of focus and commitment that the current prime minister has done.”
In a cabinet reshuffle before making his resignation speech, Boris Johnson appointed Teessider Greg Clark as Levelling Up Secretary, a day after Mr Johnson sacked his predecessor Michael Gove.
Shortly after his appointment, Mr Clark tweeted: “We have a duty to ensure that the country has a functioning government in the weeks ahead. Having been Secretary of State at the Communities department before, I will do my best to provide stability, good governance and accountability to Parliament at this important time.”
Sir Robert Buckland has been made Secretary of State for Wales, following the departure of Simon Hart and James Cleverly was appointed Education Secretary.
Kit Malthouse was appointed Chancellor for the Duchy of Lancaster, the most senior minister in the Cabinet Office after the Prime Minister.
He succeeds Steve Barclay, who was made Mr Johnson’s new Health Secretary on Tuesday.
Shailesh Vara was appointed Secretary of State for Northern Ireland and Andrew Stephenson was appointed Minister without Portfolio and will attend Cabinet, No 10 said.