Boris Johnson, who served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 24 July, 2019, announced his resignation on 7 July 2022. Johnson announced his resignation as Prime Minister after serving just under three years at Number 10. He told the public: “I want you to know how sad I am to be giving up the best job in the world, but them’s the breaks.”
Why is Boris Johnson resigning?
While many lined up to replace Boris Johnson after his announcement of retirement, there were questions around his reasons for retirement. After senior Cabinet ministers, including previous Chancellor of the Exchequer Rishi Sunak, and a long list of junior officials resigned – making it difficult for Johnson to run the government – he finally decided to step down as Prime Minister.
His term as the leader of the Conservative Party ended with scandals that included breaches of COVID-19 pandemic lockdown rules, the appointment of a minister who had been accused of sexual misconduct, and a luxury renovation of his official residence. After a lot of battling for his job, Johnson had to step down as more than fifty government ministers quit; however, he said that his removal felt “eccentric” and the result of “herd instinct”. Despite leaving office, he made a final pledge to the people of Ukraine: “I know that we in the UK will continue to back your fight for freedom for as long as it takes.”
The Leadership Race for Prime Minister
In the following leadership race, Rishi Sunak, the former Chancellor of the Exchequer, was seen as a front runner. Nadhim Zahawi was also recommended as a potential candidate. Other potential candidates included: then Attorney General Suella Braverman, Tom Tugendhat who went public with their campaigns, the Defence Secretary Ben Wallace, and then Foreign Secretary Liz Truss. Of course, Liz Truss was finally selected and became the UK’s new Prime Minister on 6 September 2022.
Written by: Ruchi Sohni
Edited by: Joanne Spence-Thomas