Boris Johnson

UK's Boris Johnson fights for his political survival after top resignations and scandals · U.K. · British Finance Minister Rishi Sunak and Health Secretary Sajid ...

Only a real change of government can give Britain the fresh start it needs." It has since emerged that Johnson appointed him to the role despite knowing of previous misconduct allegations against him. As a number of senior Tories called for Johnson to quit, the government's former Brexit negotiator David Frost also joined the fray, calling on the prime minister to step down without delay. As he faced such a vote only last month, a new challenge would require a rule change to allow another vote within the next 12 months. - But despite calls to resign, the prime minister shows no signs of being ready to stand down. Health Secretary Sajid Javid, likewise, resigned in protest against Johnson's leadership, which has been beset by controversy and scandal in recent months.

From Jaws to The Thick of It, a roundup of some of the best satire as the prime minister fights for survival.

Footage of Tuesday morning’s grim cabinet meeting – why did Johnson let in the cameras? This isn’t a meme really, but it probably meets the definition of satire. The latest iteration of a popular meme format of the comedy gameshow.

LONDON — British Prime Minister Boris Johnson on Wednesday was fighting for his political life as more ministers and aides continued to quit his government, ...

One of the lawmakers to resign his post on Wednesday was Will Quince, children and families minister. The majority of the British public think that he should throw in the towel now. Analysts say that Johnson is lucky insomuch as their reasons for losing faith in Johnson seem to be varied — his critics aren’t coalescing around a single issue, the way that those who helped to get rid of Theresa May, Johnson’s predecessor, did when they ditched her. While some leaders may have read the room and decided to call it quits, Ford said, Corbyn did not and remained leader until the spring of 2020. And under the current Conservative Party rules, there’s no formal way for Johnson’s critics to quickly get rid of him. The resignations, which have followed a string of scandals, have prompted numerous questions: How long can Johnson survive?

One of Boris Johnson's allies claimed that Rishi Sunak and Sajid Javid had failed to "tap up" support from other cabinet ministers, before announcing their ...

The chairman of the 1922 committee, Sir Graham Brady, could go to No 10 with - metaphorically - a pile of no confidence letters under his arm. I don't want this to go on until the Autumn." This includes an MP who prominently supported him in the last leadership contest. And what is striking is that I have spoken to a number of Conservative MPs who backed Boris Johnson in the last confidence vote, who would not support him in the next one. If Boris Johnson were to be defeated in a confidence vote, then nominations would be open for a new leader - with MPs potentially whittling the candidates down to the final two before the summer recess. After a wave of high profile resignations, Number 10 will be keen to say they have stabilised the ship - there is a new chancellor, with a new approach, a new health secretary and a new education secretary.

Resignations are a feature of the constitution of the United Kingdom, and not a bug. When a minister resigns, a noise is made that usually catches the ...

What is missing is the soothing green light of a change of prime minister. The first is the power of patronage which derives from the royal prerogative, and this enables a prime minister to hire and fire cabinet ministers and to set the agenda for the government. The constitution of the UK is used to prime ministers being got rid of between general elections. And current Prime Minister Boris Johnson appears to have lost the confidence of both. Resignations are a feature of the constitution of the United Kingdom, and not a bug. The prime minister of the United Kingdom has surprisingly few formal powers.

Two top ministers and a slew of more junior officials resigned this week, saying they could no longer serve under Johnson's scandal-tarred leadership.

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Minister reportedly told Johnson before PMQs that he should quit, and was absent from frontbench.

In a further blow to Johnson, the influential backbencher Robert Halfon announced on Wednesday he could no longer support the prime minister, saying he felt “the public have been misled” over the resignation of Pincher after further allegations of groping, the catalyst for the escalation of the crisis. Felicity Buchan, a junior aide in the business department, also stepped down, telling Johnson he had “lost the confidence of my constituents and me”. Earlier, in a punchy resignation speech, Javid urged cabinet ministers to follow him in abandoning Johnson’s administration, saying: “Enough is enough”.

The prime minister has faced lawmakers' questions after two of the most senior figures in his government resigned. The finance and health ministers said ...

The revelations are the latest in a string of scandals involving Johnson, who has been fined by police for lockdown-breaching parties. In a highly unusual move for a civil servant, Simon McDonald publicly claimed that Johnson’s office had repeatedly failed to tell the truth. “I also believe a team is as good as its team captain and that a captain is as good as his or her team. The promotion came despite Pincher being accused of drunkenly groping two men and Johnson having been made aware of the allegations. “The matter was resolved. Finance Minister Rishi Sunak and Health Secretary Sajid Javid both said they could no longer support the culture of scandal surrounding Johnson’s tenure.

LONDON — British Prime Minister Boris Johnson is in serious trouble — again — with more than 25 members of his government resigning in the past day.

It was made worse by a series of scandals — dubbed “Partygate” — over several parties being held at Downing Street when lockdowns and social distancing were in place during the worst of the pandemic. And he has been criticized over the mounting cost-of-living crisis in the U.K. “Mr. Johnson was briefed in person about the initiation and outcome of the investigation,” McDonald said. Johnson was criticized for his handling of the coronavirus pandemic. The committee is set to meet Wednesday and could decide to elect new members next week. But since then, he has lost the public’s confidence: In a new YouGov poll, 69 percent of Britons said Johnson should resign, and many of his party members agree. Johnson says he has no plans to quit. But Pincher last week resigned from that post amid a scandal, as the British press widely reported that he had allegedly tried to grope several men while intoxicated at a bar. At first, as the scandal broke and Pincher resigned, Johnson’s official spokesman said the prime minister did not know of earlier incidents of Pincher’s alleged misconduct. He resigned from his post as government whip in 2017 after a Conservative Party activist accused him of making unwanted advances toward him. Sunak said: “The public rightly expect government to be conducted properly, competently and seriously. Having a senior cabinet member resign is a big deal in British politics, and Sunak and Javid were in particularly important positions.

The dramatic developments came on another febrile day in Westminster, with Johnson again facing intense pressure over his conduct in office.

“I have been a member of the Conservative Party my entire adult life,” Gullis said in his resignation letter. Jonathan Gullis, one of Johnson’s most vocal supporters in the House of Commons, resigned as a ministerial aide late on Tuesday. “In hindsight, it was the wrong thing to do. The dramatic developments came on another febrile day in Westminster, with Johnson again facing intense pressure over his conduct in office. The latest row was triggered last week when Tory MP Chris Pincher resigned as a government whip, or political enforcer, following newspaper allegations he had groped two men. “The public rightly expect government to be conducted properly, competently and seriously,” Sunak wrote.

A confidence vote in British Prime Minister Boris Johnson could be triggered as early as Wednesday night. That's according to a tweet by a Sky journalist ...

BBC Political Editor Chris Mason said Transport Minister Grant Shapps would lead a delegation on Wednesday evening. A confidence vote in British Prime Minister Boris Johnson could be triggered as early as Wednesday night. A group of cabinet ministers are about to tell Prime Minister Boris Johnson to quit, including the man who has just been appointed as the new finance minister, media reports said on Wednesday.

Two of his top ministers have quit and others are calling for him to go, but he is hanging on.

Similar allegations of sexual misconduct had been made against Mr Pincher in the past. But so far Mr Johnson remains defiant and says he has no intention of resigning given his "colossal mandate" from voters at the last election. In a subsequent statement to Parliament on Wednesday Mr Javid said - with Mr Johnson looking on - that the problem "starts at the top" and "that's not going to change". Tuesday afternoon saw Mr Johnson call the rest of his cabinet to find out who was staying and who was going - so far the rest of the cabinet has remained loyal. "It's a bit like the death of Rasputin. He's been poisoned, stabbed, he's been shot, his body's been dumped in a freezing river and still he lives." Tory MP Andrew Mitchell told the BBC: "It's a bit like the death of Rasputin. He's been poisoned, stabbed, he's been shot, his body's been dumped in a freezing river and still he lives."

British prime minister fires senior minister Michael Gove as MPs tell him to step down and more than 35 resign.

Johnson has tried to reassert his authority by quickly appointing Nadhim Zahawi — a rising Conservative star widely praised for the successful rollout of Covid-19 vaccines — as finance minister. “He is embarrassing the Conservative Party and showing contempt for the electorate.” “And that’s what I’m going to do.” That was borne out in the December 2019 election. A senior Conservative said the prime minister was digging in. He narrowly won a similar vote in June.

He hardly has any government ministers and his own cabinet tried to force him to resign. What is going on?

For Johnson it appears that the next chapter of his story is about to unfold. Any political strategist worth his or her salt could have told the Labour Party that Boris Johnson had become a political liability for the Conservatives. His trust problem had made him a toxic brand. Bluster, bluff and buffoonery – levelled-up with puppyish optimism – are not enough for a country facing multiple crises and the need to define a new position in the world. The conversation drifted, unsurprisingly, to the mental health of politicians but even this connection floated unnoticed past the eyes of the prime minister as he randomly declared that “alcohol served in the Palace of Westminster” was the heart of the problem. The only problem with this diagnosis is that it is thought to be an “acquired disorder” linked to the pressures of holding high political office whereas Johnson’s blond ambition has always been fuelled by hubristic tendencies. The exceptional times of the past few years demanded an exceptional politician who was willing to break the rules and ride roughshod over convention to get things done.

British Prime Minister Boris Johnson defied pressure to quit on Wednesday from senior ministers and a mounting rebellion within his ruling Conservative ...

“He is embarrassing the Conservative Party and showing contempt for the electorate.” That was borne out in the December 2019 election. Johnson sacked Michael Gove, a senior minister who media earlier said had told the British leader he should quit. At parliamentary questions on Wednesday some Conservatives struggled not to laugh when others poked fun at him and he took a pummelling from a committee of senior politicians over his past behaviour, his motivation and some of the scandals that have come to define much of his tenure. Johnson said had a mandate from the 2019 national election,which he won with a large majority, and it would not be responsible to walk away from the job in the middle of a cost-of-living crisis and war in Europe. But despite the clamour for him to resign, James Duddridge, a Conservative lawmaker and close aide of Johnson, told Sky News the British leader “is buoyant, he is up for a fight” after a meeting with members of his top cabinet team.

Mr Lewis was among previously-loyal cabinet ministers who told the prime minister on Wednesday that he needed to step down from office due to a loss in support.

In his letter to the prime minister, Mr Lewis said a decision to leave government is "never taken lightly particularly at such a critical time for Northern Ireland". A decent and responsible Government relies on honesty, integrity and mutual respect - it is a matter of profound personal regret that I must leave Government as I no longer believe those values are being upheld.— Brandon Lewis (@BrandonLewis) As the crisis for Boris Johnson was beginning on Tuesday, I was told by a source: "If he decides to soldier on, Brandon Lewis will be his trusted lieutenant." Mr Lewis tweeted on Thursday that a "decent and responsible" government relies on "honesty, integrity and mutual respect". Mr Lewis was among previously-loyal cabinet ministers who told the prime minister on Wednesday that he needed to step down from office due to a loss in support. Brandon Lewis has resigned as Northern Ireland secretary as the crisis over Boris Johnson's leadership grows.

Good morning. Well, he's definitely getting the barnacles off the boat. 44 members of the government have resigned in less than 30 hours. Boris Johnson stormed ...

Even if he wanted to do so, it seems likely that he would fail: the monarch and her advisers would likely conclude without fear of widespread contradiction that he had failed to reach the necessary bar. “Desperate, deluded PM clings to power” the Guardian’s front page says this morning, while the Times goes with “Johnson fights for his life” and shows the aforesaid with his fists clenched. The other prospect that has come under discussion is whether Johnson might try to force a new general election if he lost a confidence vote, out of … hubris? As he explained to cabinet ministers tonight the chance is not Boris or no Boris the choice is giving him a new change with a fresh chancellor and new programme that Rishi was not prepared to do, tax cuts, or spend months ripping each other apart to elect a leader without a mandate – coalition of chaos and Labour who will break up Britain. That’s the real choice. “You have to remember that there are 350-odd Conservative MPs and you have a few of them who have resigned,” the backbencher said. There will probably be more resignations today, while Johnson may find some warm bodies to fill a few of the open berths. It’s worth quoting the argument given by a No 10 source to the BBC last night in all its frothingly chaotic glory, with a great big ‘sic’ applying to the whole thing: The reality is that Johnson would now lose by a mile. “Maybe this is a good opportunity to slim down government,” one senior No 10 source apparently suggested last night, with the kind of touching optimism familiar to any observer of information ministries in failed states. Somehow, somehow, Boris Johnson is still in place, hunkering down in the No 10 bunker while Jacob Rees-Mogg and Nadine Dorries bring him news of successes on the eastern front. Gove had committed the cardinal sin of confronting Johnson with reality, and got called a “snake” for his troubles. Boris Johnson stormed past the previous record for the number of ministerial resignations in a single day with the departure of Mims Davies from the Department for Work and Pensions at 2.26pm; then they, and he, just kept going.

Exclusive: High Wycombe MP says if he won leadership race he would dismantle green policies.

Measures to stop wildlife becoming extinct, and to store carbon in the land would also be under threat if Baker became prime minister. They’re anti-human life on Earth in the name of environmentalism, and I want us to live flourishing and full lives with a healthy environment around us.” But if a risk is catastrophic and infinitesimally likely, then you just don’t do anything about it because it won’t happen.” He does not believe the high emissions scenarios presented by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) are likely to happen. He said he would end the push for more wind and solar power, explaining: “They are fundamentally intermittent sources of energy. He said a local Indian restaurant in his constituency was struggling with its energy bills, adding that it may have to close if prices do not go down.

LONDON — Boris Johnson has agreed to step down as the British prime minister, the BBC and other British media outlets said Thursday, following an avalanche ...

Bernard Jenkin, a Conservative lawmaker and chair of the powerful Liaison Committee, told the national broadcaster that Johnson “can go with some dignity” or he can be “forced out like Donald Trump, clinging to power and pretending he’s won the election when he’s lost." Northern Ireland Secretary Brandon Lewis was among those who resigned from his position in the Cabinet on Thursday morning. Many of the letters including brutal assessments of Johnson’s tenure and critiques of his honesty. You must do the right thing and go now.” Ministers in charge of security, the courts, technology, education, finance, Northern Ireland, science have all left their jobs. Chris Mason, the BBC’s political editor, wrote: “Boris Johnson will resign as Conservative leader today - he will continue as Prime Minister until the autumn.

Penny Mordaunt, the UK international trade minister, is the favourite to replace Boris Johnson as Conservative party leader, according to odds from bookmaker ...

The 50th resignation came from George Freeman, a junior minister for science, research and innovation, and pensions minister Guy Opperman quit shortly after.

Prime minister, you know in your heart what the right thing to do is, and go now." Johnson met with remaining members of his cabinet on Wednesday night, many of whom were reported to have urged him to step down. Matt Beech, director of the Centre for British Politics at the University of Hull, told CNBC on Thursday that the challenge Johnson is facing this time around is different on account of the "huge proportion of the government payroll vote" that have resigned, characterizing the situation as "pretty seismic." She told Johnson in a letter: "I see no way that you can continue in post, but without a formal mechanism to remove you it seems the only way that this is possible is for those of us who remain in cabinet to force your hand." "I am heartbroken that he hasn't listened and that he is now undermining the incredible achievements of this Government at this late hour," Zahawi said in a public letter Thursday morning. In a scathing resignation letter to the prime minister, Freeman said the "culmination of your lack of transparency and candour with Parliament (and willingness to ask your Ministers to mislead Parliament), your removal of key pillars of the Ministerial code, your handling of your appointment of a Deputy Chief Whip who it turns out you knew had a history of sexual abuse allegations, is too much."

More than 40 ministers and aides, including three cabinet members, have quit the government since late Tuesday, with resignations continuing to trickle in ...

"And that means that it is for those of us in that position - who have a responsibility - to make that change." "The problem starts at the top, and I believe that is not going to change," he told a hushed House of Commons. On the other end of the political spectrum, The Guardian condemned Johnson as "desperate and deluded". The normally staunchly pro-Conservative Daily Express spoke of Johnson's "last stand", with the Daily Telegraph calling Johnson "mortally wounded", and The Times said Johnson was "fight(ing) for his life". His reaction was to fire Communities Secretary Michael Gove, reportedly the first to tell him that he must resign for the good of the Tory party and country, with a source close to Johnson telling the BBC that Gove was "a snake". Allies of the prime minister said he was going to "fight on", with his parliamentary private secretary (PPS) James

British Prime Minister Boris Johnson has spoken to Queen Elizabeth as a courtesy ahead of an impending announcement about his resignation plan, ITV Deputy ...

- Reuters - Reuters - Reuters - Reuters The prime minister said he had forgotten. - Reuters

LONDON — British Prime Minister Boris Johnson is expected to announce his resignation Thursday amid a party revolt and is due to give a statement to the ...

A contest for the leadership of his Conservative party will take place over summer. But his popularity took serious dents after a string of scandals, from police fines over coronavirus lockdown parties to a brouhaha over the cost of decorating his official residence. The next day, he penned a letter — shared on Twitter — in which he urged Johnson to “leave with dignity.”

Boris Johnson's scandal-ravaged premiership appeared on the brink of collapse Wednesday, after numerous ministers and former allies pulled their support for ...

Johnson has developed a good relationship with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky and been a leading player in Europe's response to Russia's invasion. Johnson's efforts to cling to power were branded "pathetic" by the opposition leader Keir Starmer, who also turned his attack towards the few allies in his Cabinet still propping him up. Numerous Prime Ministers have been dumped from office by sudden and deadly rebellions within their own parties, with leaders typically choosing to resign once the writing is on the wall. "The public rightly expect government to be conducted properly, competently and seriously," Chancellor Rishi Sunak said in his resignation letter on Tuesday night. Less than three years ago, Johnson secured a landslide election win and then enacted Brexit, a political revolution for which many within his party had clamored for decades. His longtime ally and senior Cabinet minister, Michael Gove, also urged him on Wednesday afternoon to accept that his time is up, two senior advisers with knowledge of the situation confirmed to CNN. That news was first reported by Mail+, Daily Mail's digital platform.

More than 40 ministers and aides, including three cabinet members, have quit the government since late Tuesday, with resignations continuing to trickle in ...

And won’t. And he doesn’t do resignation. “He doesn’t do sorry. Former head of Downing Street’s Policy Unit Camilla Cavendish told the BBC that Britain no longer had “a functioning government” and the calls for Johnson to go persisted late into the evening. The Communities Secretary was reportedly the first to tell him that he must resign for the good of the Tory party and country, with a source close to Johnson telling the BBC that Gove was “a snake”. Opposition Labour leader Keir Starmer called it “good news” that Johnson was going to quit but said what was needed was “a proper change of government”. A Downing Street spokesman said the prime minister “will make a statement to the country today”.

Boris Johnson will resign as leader of the UK's ruling Conservative Party on Thursday but will continue as Prime Minister until later this year.

- UK's Boris Johnson on the brink as ministers quit London - Boris Johnson will resign as leader of the UK's ruling Conservative Party on Thursday but will continue as Prime Minister until later this year. - WATCH: Boris Johnson fights for his political life amid resignations

Britain's prime minister steps down as leader of the Conservative Party after several top officials quit his government, saying they couldn't serve under ...

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U.K. · It comes as the wave of resignations from Johnson's government and party since Tuesday evening approached 60, with one Conservative Party member after ...

The 58-year-old former London mayor had become known for his ability to wriggle out of political controversies. It has since emerged that Johnson appointed him to the role despite knowing of previous misconduct allegations against him. The secret ballot of Tory lawmakers saw some 211 MPs vote in favor of Johnson, while 148 voted against him. He said he intends to remain in place until a new Tory leader is elected. Johnson thanked his wife Carrie Johnson, his children, the National Health Service, armed forces and Downing Street staff. Johnson's decision to remain in office comes despite a clear lack of support from within his own party and a growing push across the political spectrum for him to step down immediately.

LONDON, July 7 (Reuters) - Boris Johnson will announce his resignation as British Prime Minister on Thursday, a government source said, ...

The prime minister said he had forgotten. That was borne out in the December 2019 election. These are serious times on many fronts.”

Boris Johnson led his Conservative party to a thumping parliamentary victory in 2019 and secured the UK's exit from the EU. AFP | Ben STANSALL.

His former editor at the Telegraph, Max Hastings, described it as cynical -- but not unexpected. But he was "the same moral bankrupt as when the Conservative party chose him, as shambolic in his conduct of office as in his management of his life". At Eton, his teachers bemoaned his "cavalier attitude" to his studies and the sense he gave that he should be treated as "an exception". He became "leave" campaign's figurehead, capitalising on his popular image as a unconventional but likeable rogue as the quickest route to power. But the luck of a man once likened to a "greased piglet" for his ability to escape controversies finally ran out, after a slew of high-profile resignations from his scandal-hit government. Boris Johnson led his Conservative party to a thumping parliamentary victory in 2019 and secured the UK's exit from the EU

Boris Johnson is set to resign after 50 resignations from his government, and his own chancellor calling on him to leave.

Perhaps because the media itself is filled with such weak men, we see a specific scheming, unentertaining, cuckolded, catastrophising profile emerging as the kind of “new” man this desperate age seeks to amplify. If we are denied another age of strong men and good women, the idententarians and insurgents littered across corporations, particularly HR departments, media, academic and activism will achieve their vision of an uninhabitable world where nothing makes sense. Being toxic like Boris – and for that matter like Gedleyihlekisa – is terrible, but being weak isn’t much further upstream. Weak men panicked and instituted lockdowns – even weaker men celebrated them. The UK prime minister will make a statement to the country today, after it became clear he would be unable to fill the holes in his government, with chancellor Nadhim Zahawi effectively placing him in a checkmate position by calling on him to quit without resigning. Boris Johnson is set to resign after 50 resignations from his government, and his own chancellor calling on him to leave.

The resignation of Prime Minister Boris Johnson deepens the uncertainty hanging over Britain's economy, already under strain from an inflation rate heading for ...

The risk of profound policy error is therefore significant,” they said. Sunak’s short-term priority before he resigned was to ease the burden of Britain’s debt, which jumped above 2 trillion pounds during the coronavirus pandemic. The race to replace Johnson, who announced on Thursday that he would quit office, could take weeks. Whoever succeeds Johnson must take big decisions on tax and spending that could reduce the risk of a recession but might also add to the inflationary heat in the economy. That would leave the world’s fifth-biggest economy at risk of further drift at a time when sterling is near two-year lows against the dollar and the Bank of England is in a dilemma about raising interest rates without damaging economic activity. The resignation of Prime Minister Boris Johnson deepens the uncertainty hanging over Britain’s economy, already under strain from an inflation rate heading for double digits, the risk of a recession and Brexit.

Scandal-ridden Boris Johnson announced on Thursday he would quit as British prime minister after he dramatically lost the support of his ministers and most ...

“I regret not to have been successful in those arguments. He shrugged off concerns from some that his narcissism, failure to deal with details and a reputation for deceit meant he was unsuitable. The prime minister said he had forgotten. That was borne out in the December 2019 election. “I know that there will be many people who are relieved and perhaps quite a few who will also be disappointed. And I want you to know how sad I am to be giving up the best job in the world.