Britain's embattled Boris Johnson to resign as Conservative leader, try to stay on as prime minister

British Prime Minister Boris Johnson has agreed to resign and will formalize his decision in a public announcement on Thursday, The Associated Press reports, citing an official in his Downing Street office. The BBC's Chris Mason reports that Johnson will resign as Conservative Party leader but "continue as prime minister until the autumn," acting as caretaker head of government until the Conservatives pick a new party leader before their annual conference in October. It's not clear he will be allowed to stay on that long.
Johnson has been facing increasingly fierce pressure to step down for days, and his ouster was expected after two of his top Cabinet ministers, Treasury chancellor Rishi Sunak and Health Secretary Sajid Javid, resigned in tandem on Tuesday, starting a wave of resignations that continued Thursday morning. New Treasury chief Nadhim Zahawi publicly called on Johnson to step down minutes before news broke of his resignation and "just 36 hours after Johnson put him in the job, while another newly appointed Cabinet minister quit her post," AP notes.
Johnson, 58, had dug in his heels on Wednesday, refusing to quit even after a group of his most trusted Cabinet ministers visited him at his office and told him to resign because he had lost the trust of his party. Instead, Johnson fired one of the ministers, Michael Gove, setting off more resignations.
Subscribe to The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.

Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
Britain's Conservatives began to get restive about Johnson's leadership after snowballing revelations of parties at his office and residence that violated his own government's COVID-19 lockdown rules, leading to a no confidence vote he narrowly survived. This week, Johnson acknowledged he had elevated a Tory lawmaker to a senior position even though he knew about previous sexual misconduct allegations.
Given the chaos and vacancies in Johnson's government, "is it sustainable for him to carry on until the autumn?" the BBC's Mason asks. "That argument will rage today. And another will begin: who should be our next prime minister?"
A free daily email with the biggest news stories of the day – and the best features from TheWeek.com
Peter has worked as a news and culture writer and editor at The Week since the site's launch in 2008. He covers politics, world affairs, religion and cultural currents. His journalism career began as a copy editor at a financial newswire and has included editorial positions at The New York Times Magazine, Facts on File, and Oregon State University.
-
Secret Service 'failures' on Trump shooting
Speed Read Two new reports detail security breakdowns that led to attempts on the president's life
-
Trump set to hit Canada with 35% tariffs
Speed Read The president accused Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney of failing to stop the cross-border flow of fentanyl
-
Mahmoud Khalil files $20M claim over ICE detention
Speed Read This is the 'first damages complaint' brought by an individual targeted by the Trump's administration's 'crackdown' on Gaza war protesters
-
Trump threatens Brazil with 50% tariffs
Speed Read He accused Brazil's current president of leading a 'witch hunt' against far-right former leader Jair Bolsonaro
-
AI scammer fakes Rubio messages to top officials
Speed Read The unknown individual mimicked Rubio in voice and text messages sent to multiple government officials
-
SCOTUS greenlights Trump's federal firings
speed read The Trump administration can conduct mass federal firings without Congress' permission, the Supreme Court ruled
-
New tariffs set on 14 trading partners
Speed Read A new slate of tariffs will begin August 1 on imports from Japan, South Korea, Thailand and more
-
Elon Musk launching 'America Party'
Speed Read The tech mogul promised to form a new political party if Trump's megabill passed Congress