Jubilee Post News & Views
Special Desk
Boris Johnson, 58, has announced he would step down following a slew of resignations from his top team that was in protest against him.
Opposition Labour leader Keir Starmer had welcomed his impending departure. This has paved way for the selection of a new Prime Minister. “It is clearly the will of the parliamentary Conservative party that there should be a new leader of that party,” Johnson said media announcing his decision at 10 Downing Street.
The leadership election will take place over the summer and the victor will replace Johnson by the party’s annual conference in early October. Boris Johnson faces a parliamentary probe into whether he lied to MPs about ‘Partygate’ revelations.
Keir Starmer said a proper change of government was needed and demanded a no-confidence vote in parliament, potentially triggering a general election, rather than Johnson clinging on for months and months.
Defence minister Ben Wallace and Rishi Sunak, whose departure as Finance Minister on Tuesday sparked the exodus, were among the early frontrunners to succeed Johnson. Boris Johnson has defied the normal rules of politics for so long.
Scandals that would have sunk other politicians appeared to have no effect on him. He was always able to bounce back. His gaffes and blunders became part of his brand.
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He won two terms as mayor of London, normally a Labour stronghold, and helped convince millions to back Brexit in the 2016 EU referendum.
He became prime minister in July 2019 without an election – but four months later secured an historic landslide victory, winning seats in parts of the country that had never voted Conservative before. As 2020 dawned, his dominance of British politics appeared to be complete. But then came coronavirus.
A global pandemic would have tested any leader and Johnson’s government made its share of mistakes, with the UK at one point having the highest death rate in the developed world. His unwavering self-belief, however, left an impression.
