Live updates: Boris Johnson expected to resign as U.K. prime minister
LONDON — After days of digging in and refusing to step down, British Prime Minister Boris Johnson is expected to resign. He will address the nation later Thursday, his office told The Washington Post.
Johnson has been teetering on the brink of resignation after almost 60 members of his government resigned their posts in just 48 hours, pushing his scandal-hit leadership into further chaos.
The latest blow came after two Cabinet ministers, who had been promoted within the past two days, publicly called on Johnson to leave office.
Chancellor Nadhim Zahawi, who replaced Rishi Sunak as Britain’s top finance official after the latter’s shock resignation Tuesday evening, told lawmakers Wednesday he backed the prime minister.
The next day, he penned a letter — shared on Twitter — in which he urged Johnson to “leave with dignity.”
Johnson’s new Education Secretary, Michelle Donelan, also ended her brief tenure Thursday morning. “I see no way that you continue in post, but without a formal mechanism to remove you it seems that the only way this is only possible, is for those of us who remain in cabinet to force your hand,” she said.
Johnson rose to power on a promise to “get Brexit done.” He secured a huge parliamentary majority for his Conservative Party in a 2019 election, which he argued this week gave him a public mandate to stay on. But his popularity took serious dents after a string of scandals, from police fines over coronavirus lockdown parties to a brouhaha over the cost of decorating his official residence.
Johnson will announce he will step down from office Thursday, but he intends to remain as prime minister into the fall, British media reported. A contest for the leadership of his Conservative party will take place over summer.
