In June 2021, the
Conservative Party unexpectedly lost the safe seat of
Chesham and Amersham to the
Liberal Democrats after a successful round of
local elections.[15] This was the first big defeat for both Johnson and the Conservatives since the
2019 Brecon and Radnorshire by-election, also a Liberal Democrats gain.[16][17] The following month, despite the Conservatives being heavily favoured to win the
Batley and Spen by-election, the seat was narrowly retained by the
Labour Party, with the Conservatives' surprise loss blamed largely in part on a scandal that saw health secretary
Matt Hancock forced to resign the weekend prior to the by-election, after admitting to breaching social distancing regulations during an extramarital affair.[18][19] While the by-election defeats were generally seen as being embarrassing for the government, they were by and in large not regarded as a sign of imminent danger, as the Conservatives continued to command a strong lead in opinion polls, with press coverage primarily focusing on possible challenges to Labour leader
Keir Starmer by allies of previous leader
Jeremy Corbyn.[20]
In October 2021, it emerged that Conservative MP
Owen Paterson had two second jobs, both based in Northern Ireland and gained through contacts gained while Shadow Northern Ireland Secretary, and both of which had involved him advocating for government contracts or changes in standards on behalf of the companies. The
Commons Select Committee on Standards found that these breached paid advocacy rules and called for Paterson to be suspended from the House for thirty days, which would have triggered a
recall petition.[21] When these recommendations were voted on in the Commons, Conservative MP
Andrea Leadsom attached a controversial amendment to delay Paterson's suspension and instead launch a review into the Commons Standards Process itself; the amendment passed. When it emerged that other parties would refuse to take part, this idea was dropped and the government began to prepare for a vote on the suspension. Paterson resigned on 5 November, before such a vote could occur, triggering the
2021 North Shropshire by-election, which the Liberal Democrats unexpectedly won.[22]
In late 2021, the
Partygate scandal began after details started to emerge about a number of parties held by government and Conservative Party staff in
10 Downing Street in 2020 and 2021, in violation of
COVID-19 public health restrictions.[23] In January 2022, the
Metropolitan Police announced that it would open an investigation into the gatherings, and the civil servant
Sue Gray was announced to be leading a Cabinet Office inquiry. Gray's final report in May 2022 described multiple events, including excessive drinking and a lack of respect shown to cleaning and security staff. She concluded that senior political and civil service leadership "must bear responsibility for this culture". Public disquiet over the events led to a decline in public support for
Boris Johnson, the government and the Conservatives.[24]
The Conservatives lost two seats in by-elections on 23 June 2022 in
Wakefield and
Tiverton & Honiton, with a 13% swing to Labour and 30% swing to the Liberal Democrats respectively. This led to the resignation of
Oliver Dowden as
Chairman of the Conservative Party, who said in his resignation letter that "we cannot carry on with business as usual".[28]
In late June 2022, the
Chris Pincher scandal erupted after the Conservative MP
Chris Pincher resigned from his position as Deputy Chief Whip due to allegations that he sexually assaulted two men.[29] A few days later, a number of new allegations against him emerged, including allegations that his behaviour had previously been reported to
10 Downing Street and that Johnson had ignored those allegations.[30][31]
Collapse of the government
On 5 July 2022, Health Secretary
Sajid Javid and Chancellor
Rishi Sunak resigned following Johnson's admission that it was a mistake to appoint Member of Parliament (MP)
Chris Pincher to the role of Deputy
Chief Whip following
allegations of sexual harassment stretching back at least twelve years. The resignations of Javid and Sunak caused numerous junior ministers and among the
Parliamentary Private Secretary (PPS) to also resign, most of whom cited a lack of honesty and integrity on the part of Johnson. In the following 24 hours, 36 MPs resigned from their roles in government. This marked both the largest number of ministerial resignations in a 24-hour period since the
British Empire Economic Conference in 1932, and the largest number of such resignations on record.[32] Despite the historic mass resignation of his ministers and his own later on, Johnson stated that he had a "colossal mandate" from the public, referencing the
2019 UK general election results where the Conservative Party won the highest percentage for any party since 1979, and would not stand down immediately.[33][34]
The following day, Johnson faced attacks from both the
Opposition and
Government benches during
Prime Minister's Questions, during which he ruled out resigning.
Keir Starmer called Johnson a "pathetic spectacle" and criticised those who remained in his cabinet, saying; "As for those who are left – only in office because no one else is prepared to debase themselves any longer. The charge of the lightweight brigade."[10] After
Tim Loughton asked Johnson the question "does the Prime Minister think there are any circumstances in which he should resign?", Johnson responded by saying "the job of a Prime Minister in difficult circumstances when he's been handed a colossal mandate is to keep going! And that's what I'm going to do!".[35] Following the conclusion of Prime Minister's Questions, Johnson faced further questions from more MPs during a meeting of the
Liaison Committee, during which it was revealed that members of the Cabinet, including newly appointed Chancellor
Nadhim Zahawi and
Priti Patel, the
Home Secretary, had gathered inside
10 Downing Street to call on Johnson to resign. Following this revelation, other members of Johnson's cabinet, such as
Nadine Dorries (
Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport), also gathered at Number 10 reportedly to support Johnson.[36][37]
It was widely reported that the
1922 Committee could change their rules in order to allow Johnson to face a second
motion of no confidence, though the Committee later ruled out doing so before previously scheduled elections on 11 July.[38] Several MPs reportedly submitted letters to the 1922 Committee expressing a loss in confidence in Johnson, and the committee's chairman
Graham Brady was among those seen heading into Number 10, reportedly offering "wise counsel", which has been widely interpreted as advice to resign.[38]
The resignations led to many government departments losing nearly all of their responsible Ministers. The
Department of Education only had Parliamentary Under Secretary of State
Baroness Barran remaining, with all other responsible ministers having resigned.[52]
Justice Secretary and Deputy Prime Minister
Dominic Raab and Foreign Secretary
Liz Truss made no statements either in support of or in condemnation of the Prime Minister.[61]
Resignation of Boris Johnson
Late at night on 6 July, having previously said that he would "keep going" despite the resignations, Johnson made the decision that he would stand down the following morning.[62]
On 7 July, it was announced that Johnson would make a statement, in which he would resign as
Leader of the Conservative Party, with suggestions that he would also announce his intention to stay in-post as Prime Minister until the
Conservative Party Conference in October.[14] It was reported that Johnson had phoned
the Queen in the morning, to tell her of his intention to resign.[63]
At
Prime Minister's Questions on 13 July 2022, Johnson said that he would leave office "with my head held high".[65] After the opposition called for a motion of no confidence to the government with
Boris Johnson as PM, Johnson's government called a
vote of confidence in itself with no reference to the PM, which they won.
Reactions
Domestic
Liz Truss,
Foreign Secretary, made a statement following the Prime Minister's departure, calling it "the right decision" and calling for "calmness and unity".[66]Kwasi Kwarteng,
Business Secretary, described the situation as "depressing", and called for a new leader "as soon as practicable".[67] In the 2010s,
Theresa May and
David Cameron also each announced their resignation as prime minister with the promise to act on it after the election of a new
Conservative Party leader, with May acting on the resignation two months after the announcement.[68]
Keir Starmer,
Leader of the Opposition, criticised Johnson and Conservatives who remained in
Cabinet, saying that remaining loyal to the Prime Minister meant that they did not have "a shred of integrity". He also mockingly called Johnson's new frontbench the "
Charge of the Lightweight Brigade".[10] He also said he would bring a
motion of no confidence in the Conservative government if Johnson did not leave office immediately.
Nicola Sturgeon and
Mark Drakeford, respectively
First Minister of Scotland and
First Minister of Wales, called for Johnson to resign.[69][70] Starmer confirmed he would table a motion of no confidence on 12 July.[71] This was blocked by the government, as the motion also expressed no confidence in Johnson specifically, in addition to the government.[72] A
no-confidence motion in the Johnson ministry that did not mention the PM was announced on 13 July, and was debated on 18 July.[73] The government won the vote with 347 ayes and 238 noes, with 50 MPs abstaining.
Dmitry Peskov, the press secretary for
Vladimir Putin,
President of Russia, reacted positively to the news by stating that Johnson "doesn't like us. We don't like him either."[87] Russian foreign ministry spokesperson
Maria Zakharova said that the "moral of the story" was to "not seek to destroy Russia", adding that Johnson had been "hit by a boomerang launched by himself".[88][87]Volodymyr Zelenskyy,
President of Ukraine, expressed his sadness upon learning the news and commented: "Not only me, but also all of the Ukrainian society sympathises with you a lot." Zelenskyy thanked Johnson for his support during the
2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine.[88]
Joe Biden,
President of the United States, stated that the US and the UK would remain "
the closest of friends and allies" and that "the
special relationship" between the two countries "remains strong and enduring". Biden also expressed hope that Johnson's successor will remain dedicated to supporting Ukraine.
White House officials refused to comment further on Johnson's departure, stating that they were "not going to comment on another government's democratic process".[89]
^Pow's resignation letter was officially submitted after Johnson had announced his resignation. Pow later
tweeted that, while she had informed the Prime Minister of her intention to resign prior to his announcement, she had been unable to submit her letter in person due to her self-isolating with
coronavirus.[91]
References
^"Government ministers". Institute for Government. May 2022.
Archived from the original on 8 December 2019. Retrieved 7 July 2022.
^Southworth, Phoebe (7 July 2022). "If Boris goes, Brexit goes, says Lord Heseltine". The Telegraph. Retrieved 8 July 2022. I'm absolutely clear that we need a Deputy Prime Minister to act in the interim before the new Prime Minister is chosen. It's quite obvious that Boris Johnson, if he actually were allowed to stay, is going to put through a range of policies which will bolster his position, presumably for another go. That's unthinkable ... Boris has got to go. He mustn't be allowed to manoeuvre and manipulate power in the dying days of his premiership.