Boris Johnson has resigned as Prime Minister of the UK.
The PM announced his resignation outside Number 10 Downing Street after almost three years in power.
His resignation came in the wake of the departure of the former Health Secretary Sajid Javid and the former Chancellor Rishi Sunak and the resignations of over 50 MPs.
Johnson has since been under increasing pressure to step down from his role as PM.
Speaking outside Number 10, he said: “It is clearly now the will of the Parliamentary Conservative Party that there should be a new leader of that party and so a new Prime Minister.
“I’m immensely proud of the achievements of this government in getting Brexit done, to settling our relations with the continent… reclaiming the power for this country to make its own laws in Parliament.”
Johnson added: “To [the] new leader… I say I will give you as much support as I can. And to you, the British public. I know that there will be many people who are relieved and perhaps quite a few who will also be disappointed.
“And I want you to know how sad I am to be giving up the best job in the world. But them’s the breaks.”
The Conservatives have overseen 12 years of economic stagnation, declining public services and empty promises.
We don’t need to change the Tory at the top – we need a proper change of government.
We need a fresh start for Britain. pic.twitter.com/uMxRTomXX9
— Keir Starmer (@Keir_Starmer) July 7, 2022
He confirmed the process to appoint a new leader will now begin, with a timetable to be set out next week. It is not clear exactly, however, when he will leave Number 10 for the final time.
Reacting to the news, Labour leader Sir Keir Starmer wrote on Twitter that “it was good news for the country that Boris Johnson has resigned as Prime Minister”.
Figures from the worlds of music and entertainment have also been sharing their reactions, with Years & Years frontman Olly Alexander tweeting: “Very glad to see Boris go now I’d like all the Conservatives to go next.”
Charlatans frontman Tim Burgess, meanwhile, retweeted Johnson’s post from January 2020 that read: “This is going to be a fantastic year for Britain.” He captioned it: “Yep.”
Last month, Johnson won a no-confidence vote in his leadership of the Conservative Party. The results, however, revealed that 40 per cent of his MPs were against him (211 Tories voted in his favour, with 148 against).
The motion came after the publication of Sue Gray’s report on the COVID lockdown-breaking parties for which Johnson received a fixed penalty notice in April. He became the first sitting British Prime Minister to have been found to have broken the law.
There had been countless calls for Johnson to resign throughout the so-called Partygate scandal, which first hit the news in December 2021.
Boris Johnson led the Conservative Party to victory in the December 2019 General Election, securing 365 seats. He had become Prime Minister in July of that year following Theresa May’s resignation.
