With resignations from eight ministers, including two secretaries of state, Boris Johnson was left with no other option other than stepping down.
London: British Prime Minister Boris Johnson on Thursday resigned as the party leader and will remain to be the Prime Minister till his replacement is appointed. This comes after Johnson was abandoned by the newly-appointed ministers and more than 50 others in a reported rebellion. The crisis has led the government close to a paralysis.
With resignations from eight ministers, including two secretaries of state, Johnson was left with no other option other than stepping down. Barely a handful of allies are still left with him while the others have abandoned him even as he made all attempts to save his post.
Boris Johnson was reportedly clinging to power, having defiantly responded to calls from his loyalists to step down by sacking a minister and former top ally.
Reportedly, finance minister Nadhim Zahawi, who was appointed on Wednesday, is learnt to have called Johnson asking him to resign. It was surprising when Boris Johnson had won the election in 2019 in which he had garnered votes from corners that never supported the Conservative Party.
Taking to Twitter, Zahawi said, “This is not sustainable and it will only get worse: for you, for the Conservative Party and most importantly of all the country. You must do the right thing and go now.”
The British education minister, Michelle Donelan, who assumed office barely two days ago, quit on Thursday saying Boris Johnson had put her in “an impossible situation”.
Donelan tweeted, “With great sadness I must resign from government,” and shared her resignation on Twitter.
(With agency inputs)
