British Prime Minister Boris Johnson resigned today, after facing defections from his cabinet and increased calls to resign from members of his Conservative Party. From the Associated Press:
"British Prime Minister Boris Johnson agreed to resign Thursday 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 later Thursday. [snip]
Johnson, 58, managed to remain in power for almost three years, despite allegations that he was too close to party donors, that he protected supporters from bullying and corruption allegations, and that he misled Parliament and was dishonest to the public about government office parties that broke pandemic lockdown rules.
But recent disclosures that Johnson knew about sexual misconduct allegations against Chris Pincher, a Conservative lawmaker, before he promoted Pincher to a senior position turned out to be the last straw."
The Conservative Party will have to elect a new Prime Minister from among their ranks, a process that could involve several rounds of voting, as the BBC describes. Johnson may remain as Prime Minister until the fall and a successor is selected. Among potential successors are Defense Secretary Ben Wallace, Foreign Secretary Liz Truss, and ex-cabinet ministers Jeremy Hunt and Sajid Javid.
Johnson has been a staunch supporter of Ukraine's defense and of a revived NATO alliance. His party won a landslide election in 2019, and engineered the UK's controversial exit from the European Community ("Brexit").
(photo: Sky News)
