(CNN) — British Prime Minister Boris Johnson will resign as leader of the Conservative Party, reported the British national network BBC.
Johnson spoke with Tory 1922 Committee chairman Graham Brady and agreed to stand down, and a new Tory leader is set for the party conference in October, the PA news agency reported, citing a Downing Street source.
A Downing Street spokesman told CNN on Thursday that “the Prime Minister will make a statement to the country today.”
The UK woke up this Thursday morning with more than 50 members of the government who left their positionsincluding four cabinet ministers.
The day before, Johnson vowed to keep fighting, despite the shock resignations of his finance minister, his health secretary and dozens of other lawmakers furious at the latest saga engulfing Downing Street: the botched handling of the resignation of the Deputy Leader of the Conservatives, Chris Pincher, who was accused of groping two men last week.
Britain’s Prime Minister Boris Johnson addresses his Cabinet before a weekly meeting at Downing Street in London, on July 5, 2022. (Credit: Justin Tallis/Pool via REUTERS)
Among the latest to resign are Northern Ireland Secretary Brandon Lewis, who became the fourth cabinet member to leave office; Treasury Secretary for Finance, Helen Whately, and Security Minister, Damian Hinds.
The dramatic disintegration of Johnson’s political career could now be hours away from completion; while he has so far refused to budge, Conservative lawmakers were discussing rewriting his party rules and voting to oust him if necessary.
An endless series of scandals
Numerous prime ministers have been removed from office by sudden and deadly rebellions within their own parties, with leaders often choosing to resign once the deed is on the wall. But the speed with which the Johnson government has plummeted toward the precipice echoes few episodes in British political history.
Less than three years ago, Johnson won a landslide election victory and then signed Brexit into law, a political revolution that many within his party had clamored for for decades. Even late last year, Johnson was in a healthy position in opinion polls. While the UK has the highest death toll from Covid-19 in Europe, Johnson was buoyed by the popular launch of a vaccine against the deadly disease.
But then scandal after scandal ruined his reputation with the public. He tried to overturn the suspension of an ally accused of misconduct; he was fined by the police for attending one of the many parties that took place in Downing Street during the covid-19 lockdown; he lost two MPs due to sex scandals and then failed to win back his seats in the by-elections; and this week, he admitted that he had been briefed on an allegation against Pincher before he promoted him to deputy chief, despite his ministers and aides initially claiming otherwise.
The Pincher saga was the straw that broke the camel’s back for many of his allies. Johnson narrowly survived a no-confidence motion in early June, but the rebels have threatened to change party rules and allow another vote in the near future if Johnson does not resign, and he is now expected to lose.