Boris Johnson agrees to resign, but remains PM till autumn

Boris Johnson will resign as leader of the Conservative Party, but will remain prime minister until the autumn, BBC reports.

The race for the leadership of the Conservative Party will take place this summer, so that a new prime minister can be appointed until the October Conservative conference, according to BBC.

The announcement came following further ministerial resignations this morning. New Education Secretary Michelle Donelan and Northern Ireland Secretary Brandon Lewis were the last who resigned from cabinet, after a series of departures totaling nearly 50 members of the government apparatus.

The new Finance minister Nadhim Zahawi this morning told Johnson he must “go now”, two days after being made chancellor. Nadhim Zahawi replaced Rishi Sunak, one of the first Johnson government ministers to demand that the prime minister relinquish power.

In a short speech today, Johnson said the Conservative Party’s desire “for a new leader and therefore a new prime minister” was clear.

In politics, no one is indispensable, he commented, adding that he will exercise his function as prime minister until the election of his successor. “Today I appointed a cabinet to serve, like me, until the installation of a new leader,” he said. Johnson added he was sad to give up “the best job in the world.”

Johnson spoke with Queen Elizabeth in a courtesy call ahead of the announcement of his intention to resign, ITV journalist Anushka Asthana revealed.

How is elected the successor to the leadership of the Conservative Party

Each candidate for party leadership must be nominated by Conservative lawmakers, and Reuters notes that there could be many candidates for party leadership.

Conservative MPs then hold several ballots to reduce the number of candidates: in each election, the candidate with the fewest votes is eliminated.

This process is repeated until two candidates remain. The last two candidates are subject to a wider vote in the Conservative Party, and the winner becomes the party president.

The president of the party that holds the majority in the House of Commons is the de facto prime minister of Great Britain.

Boris Johnson’s former adviser, Dominic Cummings, who has been demanding the resignation of the prime minister for at least a year, says Johnson should be forced to leave Downing Street immediately, writes The Guardian.

Evict TODAY or he'll cause CARNAGE, even now he's playing for time & will try to stay

No 'dignity', no 'interim while leadership contest'.

Raab shd be interim PM by evening

— Dominic Cummings (@Dominic2306) July 7, 2022