Why Did Boris Johnson Resign? In July 2022, Boris Johnson’s tenure as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom came to a dramatic end when he announced his resignation. A lot of people have been asking what led up to that moment and why Jonson chose to step down from that position of power.
Why Did Boris Johnson Resign as Prime Minister?
After leading the Conservative Party to its largest election win since 1987 in 2019, Mr. Johnson lost all of his MPs’ support in less than three years.
The first setback for the former prime minister came when Downing Street acknowledged that Mr. Johnson was not aware of “specific allegations” against Chris Pincher prior to appointing him as deputy chief whip in February 2022.
Ministers kept repeating this even after it was eventually shown to be untrue. Subsequently, there was Partygate, wherein Mr. Johnson was penalized for violating lockdown protocols subsequent to his birthday celebration in June 2020.
The way Mr. Johnson handled inflation was another significant flaw in his character. Mr. Johnson’s detractors attacked him for raising taxes during a crisis in the cost of living, even though he had little control over many of the factors contributing to the high rate of inflation.
In October 2021, Mr. Johnson experienced yet another issue. Owen Paterson, a Conservative MP at the time, was urged by the House of Commons Committee to serve a 30-day suspension for breaking lobbying laws in an attempt to support the companies he was paid to advise.
Mr. Paterson faced backlash, which led to his forced retirement. Later on, Mr. Johnson admitted that his handling of the situation had “crashed the car.”
Why Did Boris Johnson Resign as an MP?
Mr. Johnson resigned as a Conservative MP in June 2023 following the revelations of the Partygate scandal investigation that he had deceived Parliament and suggested a protracted ban from the House of Commons.
Mr. Johnson became enraged and declared that the investigation was an attempt to remove him from his position. The investigation was deemed a “witch-hunt” by his supporters.
He decided to jump instead of being pushed.
In a scathing 1,000-word letter, he also attacked Rishi Sunak’s administration, charging that it had increased taxes, was not conservative enough, and had not taken advantage of Brexit.
Mr. Johnson expressed his regret at “having to leave Parliament, at least for the time being,” implying that he would go back into politics.
Who is UK Prime Minister Now?
At a time when the United Kingdom faces what he has called a “profound economic challenge” and as his Conservative Party battles to heal dividing scars from months of infighting, Rishi Sunak became Britain’s third prime minister in less than two months.
Sunak came to power via one of the most conventional routes. Sunak was born in Southampton, an English port city, to Hindu Punjabi immigrants from East Africa.
He received his early education at one of the country’s most esteemed private boarding schools, Winchester College, before attending Oxford University to study philosophy, politics, and economics.
Following positions at Goldman Sachs and Stanford University, where he was a Fulbright scholar and obtained his MBA, Sunak joined the hedge fund industry before deciding to run for parliament in 2015.
As a devout follower of Hinduism, Sunak gained notoriety for basing his legislative oath on the Bhagavad Gita.
Final Words
The resignation of Boris Johnson was a dramatic moment in British politics, but it is just one chapter in a major larger story. Johnson’s legacy will be debated and dissected for years to come, and the repercussions of his departure will continue to unfold.