After more than 40 ministers deserted his cabinet and demanded his resignation, British Prime Minister Boris Johnson will eventually resign today, putting an end to an unprecedented political crisis over his future.
After Chancellor Nadhim Zahawi’s game-changing intervention, who was just named on Tuesday night following Rishi Sunak’s departure, the British leader conceded defeat half an hour later.
Mr. Johnson was informed by Zahawi that his predicament “is not sustainable.”
In the aftermath of many ethics scandals, Johnson has rejected calls from his Cabinet to resign.
On Thursday, it was unclear if Johnson will continue serving as prime minister while the Conservative Party choose a new leader.
According to a source in Downing Street, Johnson has spoken with Sir Graham Brady, the head of the 1922 Committee, and has agreed to step down. A new Conservative leader is expected to be in place by the party conference in October.
A spokeswoman said: ‘The Prime Minister will make a statement to the country today.’
Although he stopped short of resigning, Mr Zahawi tweeted: ‘Prime Minister: this is not sustainable and it will only get worse: for you, for the Conservative Party and most importantly of all the country. You must do the right thing and go now.’
Just two hours after Northern Ireland Secretary Brandon Lewis resigned, Michelle Donelan, who took office at the same time as Mr. Zahawi, also announced her resignation.
Despite the strong indications that his authority was eroding, the PM had pledged disobedience.
At 6.47am, Mr Lewis tweeted that he could no longer continue without ‘honesty, integrity and mutual respect’.
Minutes later Treasury minister Helen Whately followed suit saying ‘there are only so many times you can apologise and move on’.
By 7.30 am, security minister Damian Hinds, science minister George Freeman, and pensions minister Guy Opperman had arrived.
Welsh Secretary Simon Hart resigned Friday night, and Wales minister David TC Davies openly stated that he had turned down a promotion to replace him. Suella Braverman, the attorney general, has demanded that Mr. Johnson step down and said that her sole reason for remaining in office is to keep the government running.
With 52 resignations thus far, the government has been unable to locate a minister ready to speak up for the PM this morning, and his staff has been completely silent.
Chris Heaton-Harris, the chief whip, was photographed entering Downing Street early after the PM’s apartment lights were seen being on well into the night.
However, Mr. Johnson’s detractors have flocked to the studios in droves.
Former Cabinet member Julian Smith said that the prime minister was planning to create a “small replica” of the Capitol riots in the UK after observing how Donald Trump responded to them during the US election.
Allies have even suggested that Mr. Johnson would attempt to organize a hasty election in a last-ditch effort to retain his position, which could plunge the monarchy into a constitutional crisis.
Veteran Tory MP Bernard Jenkin this morning urged Carrie Johnson to step in a convince her husband that he should throw in the towel.
But the PM yesterday rejected pleas from a delegation of loyalists including Priti Patel and new chancellor Nadhim Zahawi for a seemly departure, vowing to fight until the bitter end.
Despite the UK being a parliamentary democracy, he claimed to have a presidential-style mandate from the last election, apparently saying: ‘If the party wants to overthrow the elected will of the people, they have to dip their hands in blood.’
In a sensational twist late last night, Mr Johnson summarily sacked Michael Gove with No10 sources branding the Levelling Up Secretary a ‘snake’ who had tried to tell the premier that the ‘the game was up’.
Constitutional experts have branded the ‘nuclear option’ of asking the Queen for a dissolution ‘deluded madness’ which would spark a crisis as the monarch would be obliged to turned down his request.