British Prime Minister Boris Johnson refused to resign on Wednesday as senior members of his Conservative Party urged him to make a "dignified exit."
Home Secretary Priti Patel, Business Secretary Kwasi Kwarteng, Transport Secretary Grant Shapps, Northern Ireland Secretary Brandon Lewis, and Welsh Secretary Simon Hart were among those who urged Johnson to resign during a Wednesday meeting at No. 10 Downing Street, The Liverpool Echo reported.
Johnson responded, "No, I'm not going," Sky News reports. He also warned his colleagues that, if he resigned, "chaos" would ensue, and the Conservatives would lose the next election.
According to the Echo, 39 senior and junior ministers have resigned from Johnson's government so far. Johnson also fired Levelling Up Secretary Michael Gove, one of the first Cabinet ministers to urge him to resign. In response, one senior party member said, "[Johnson] has lost it. He has become like Caligula."
Last month, Johnson survived a vote of no-confidence, receiving 211 votes when he needed only 180 to remain in office. Nevertheless, The New York Times said Johnson had been "badly wounded" politically by the "too-close-for-comfort result."