Prime Minister Boris Johnson announced his resignation Thursday after droves of top government officials quit over the latest scandal to engulf him, marking an end to three tumultuous years in which he tried to bluster his way through one ethical lapse after another, reports the Associated Press.
Months of defiance ended almost with a shrug as Johnson stood outside No. 10 Downing St. and conceded that his party wanted him gone. “Them’s the breaks,” he said.
One scandal too many: British PM Boris Johnson resigns (Associated Press)
Excerpt from the Associated Press: The brash, 58-year-old politician who took Britain out of the European Union and steered it through COVID-19 and the war in Ukraine was brought down by one scandal too many — this one involving his appointment of a politician who had been accused of sexual misconduct. The messiest of prime ministers did not leave cleanly. Johnson stepped down immediately as Conservative Party leader but said he would remain as prime minister until the party chooses his successor. The timetable for that process will be announced next week. The last leadership contest took six weeks.
According to The New York Times, contenders to succeed Boris Johnson, Britain’s scandal-scarred prime minister, were already jockeying for position on Friday as his wounded party wrestled with the question of whether to allow him to remain a caretaker until his replacement is chosen, a task that could stretch through the summer.
Boris Johnson Hasn’t Left, but the Jockeying to Replace Him Has Begun (The New York Times)
Excerpt from The New York Times: A day after Mr. Johnson reluctantly announced his departure, Tom Tugendhat, a centrist lawmaker, said that he would run to replace him, while Suella Braverman, the attorney general, had declared her interest in the job even before Mr. Johnson quit. Neither is seen as a front-runner in a highly unpredictable Conservative leadership contest. Under the British system, the party with the most lawmakers in Parliament gets the chance to form a government, and if it switches its leader, that person can become the new prime minister without necessitating a general election.
Britain’s ruling Conservative Party has been battered by the crisis of confidence that has engulfed outgoing Prime Minister Boris Johnson, raising questions about how much long-term damage his tenure has done to the party, writes The Wall Street Journal. He will bequeath his successor, to be chosen in coming weeks, a herculean challenge, some of his making but much out of his control, in particular the economic fallout from Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.
Conservatives Aim to Recover the Trust Lost Under Boris Johnson (The Wall Street Journal)
Excerpt from The Wall Street Journal: The next prime minister will have to rebuild trust in the integrity, honesty and competence of Conservative governments while navigating a cost-of-living crisis that is already hitting many of its core voters very hard. He or she also will have to hold together the disparate coalition of voters from rural and suburban areas and former strongholds of the main opposition Labour Party that Mr. Johnson built. While all Western countries are facing similar challenges, the U.K. is also suffering from what one economist calls a “slow puncture” to its economy caused by its final break last year from the European Union of which Mr. Johnson was the architect.
Jump to this week's edition of:
World News (Part 1)
World News (Part 2)
US News
Politics
Culture
Business
Special Report
