Boris Johnson resigns as U.K. prime minister

July 8, 2022: -On Thursday, U.K. Prime Minister Boris Johnson resigned, bringing a cruel end to a nearly three-year premiership beset by controversy and scandal.

Johnson said that the process for choosing the recent leader of the Conservative Party should start now, with a timetable to be announced in the coming week.

He said his intention is to remain in place until a replacement Tory leader is elected.

His decision to stay in office comes despite an apparent lack of support from within his party and an increasing push across the political spectrum for him to step down.

Sterling sold 0.4% higher at $1.1979 following Johnson’s announcement.

Since Tuesday, it comes as the wave of resignations from Johnson’s government and the party approached 60, with one Conservative Party member after one more publicly voicing their lack of confidence in the prime minister.

Finance Minister Nadhim Zahawi was recent of Johnson’s allies to force him to “go now” by stating the unprecedented political crisis over his future was unsustainable and would worsen.

Remarkably, the call for Johnson to step down just two days following the prime minister appointed him finance minister.

Finance Minister Rishi Sunak and Health Secretary Sajid Javid dramatically kickstarted the relentless stream of concessions. The two high-profile ministers quit in just minutes following a dispute over Johnson’s decision to make Chris Pincher deputy chief whip this year.

Pincher left and was suspended as a Conservative Party MP the previous week following accusations of groping two men at a private members’ club. It has since appeared that Johnson appointed him to the role despite knowing of the last misconduct allegations against him.

Johnson was sorry for appointing Pincher as deputy chief whip. He has often rejected calls to resign, claiming he had a “colossal mandate” to keep going. By Thursday, Johnson bent to the political pressure over his future and announced he would step down.

Johnson’s defeat ends his reputation as the “Teflon” prime minister. In the previous

 month, Johnson survived a vote of confidence triggered by his M.P.s between growing dissatisfaction with his leadership. The secret ballot of Tory lawmakers experienced a periodic 211 MPs vote in favor of Johnson, while 148 voted him out.