Boris Johnson has announced he will resign as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom.
It comes after days of chaos that saw the support of his ministers and MPs collapse. More than 50 government ministers resigned in the wake of his latest scandal as leader of the country.
Five Cabinet ministers are among those who resigned from the government, including education secretary Michelle Donelan – who had been in her role for little more than a day. Meanwhile, newly appointed Chancellor Nadhim Zahawi publicly called on Johnson to resign.
Johnson said it was “clearly the will of the parliamentary Conservative Party that there should be a new leader” as he announced his resignation. He confirmed he will remain in place until a new leader is selected.
In the latest of a myriad of scandals to hit Johnson, the former deputy chief whip Chris Pincher quit after allegedly assaulting two men while drunk at London’s Carlton Club.
Downing Street initially said Johnson had no knowledge of previous allegations against Pincher, but the Prime Minister later acknowledged he had been informed of inappropriate behaviour dating back to 2019, and said he regretted keeping him in government beyond that point.
This confirmation led to former chancellor Rishi Sunak and health secretary Sajid Javid announcing their resignation within minutes of each other.
Nicola Sturgeon has said there will be a sense of “widespread relief” following the announcement but said the “democratic deficit” of Westminster wouldn’t be fixed by a change of leadership.
In a series of tweets, she said: “There will be a widespread sense of relief that the chaos of the last few days (indeed months) will come to an end, though notion of Boris Johnson staying on as PM until autumn seems far from ideal, and surely not sustainable?
“For Scotland the democratic deficit inherent in Westminster government doesn’t get fixed with a change of PM. None of the alternative Tory PMs would ever be elected in Scotland. And in policy terms, it is hard to see what real difference hard Brexit supporting Labour offers.
“Independence only happens if a majority living in Scotland choose it – but there is no doubt it offers the real and permanent alternative to Westminster, and the opportunity to fulfil our potential at home and play our part as a good global citizen. It’s time for that choice.”
