This is a special edition of the Global News Podcast with me Charlotte Gallagher.
The UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson has resigned as Conservative party leader,
but he says he'll stay on as Prime Minister until a successor is chosen by his party to the dismay
of his opponents. We're going to get all the latest reaction and look at what happens next.
It was almost inevitable. Boris Johnson's leadership of the Conservative Party
and the UK has been in freefall since Tuesday when two of his top ministers quit,
saying they had no confidence in their former ally. And since then, barely an hour has passed
where a minister or aide hasn't quit. Many blamed what they saw as Mr Johnson's lack of honesty,
integrity and competence. They no longer thought he was the right person to lead the party - or
the country. Let’s hear now from Boris Johnson - he's been speaking on the steps of Downing Street.
It is clearly now the will of the parliamentary Conservative Party, that there should be a new
leader of that party and therefore a new prime minister. And I've agreed with Sir Graham Brady,
the chairman of our backbench MPs, that the process of choosing that new leader should begin
now and the timetable will be announced next week. And I have today appointed a cabinet to serve as
I will, until a new leader is in place. So I want to say to the millions of people who voted for us
in 2019, many of them voting Conservative for the first time. Thank you for that incredible mandate,
the biggest Conservative majority since 1987, the biggest share of the vote since 1979. And
the reason I have fought so hard in the last few days to continue to deliver that mandate in person
was not just because I wanted to do so. But because I felt it was my job,
my duty, my obligation to you to continue to do what we promised in 2019. I know that there will
be many people who are relieved and perhaps quite a few who will also be disappointed. And I want
you to know how sad I am to be giving up the best job in the world. But Them's the breaks.
The wave of resignations was triggered by revelations about the prime minister's handling
of sexual misconduct allegations against a Conservative MP,
Chris Pincher. But as our political reporter Rob Watson explains,
Mr Johnson's government has been dogged by controversy for months.
It's been a series of scandals, whether over the way in which the government itself followed
lockdown rules during Covid, issues of protecting an MP accused of corruption. And then of course,
most recently, when Boris Johnson was felt not to have been entirely straight with people about what
he knew and when about an MP put into a senior position who turned out to have some history,
certainly allegations of a history as a sexual predator. And it's all sort of
come to a head and to this extraordinary crisis that we find ourselves in now.
It's been a chaotic few days in British politics, and the saga isn't over. But
let's get some reaction now to what's happened so far. The leader of the opposition Labour Party,
Sir Kier, Starmer, says the UK needs Boris Johnson to go now.
He's inflicted lies, fraud and chaos in the country. And, you know, we're stuck with a
government which isn't functioning in the middle of a cost of living crisis. And all
of those that have been propping him up should be utterly ashamed of themselves. We've had 12 years
of a stagnant economy, 12 years of broken public services, 12 years of empty promises. Enough
is enough. And the change we need is not a change at the top of the Tory party. It's much
more fundamental than that. We need a change of government and a fresh start for Britain.
Scotland's First Minister Nicola Sturgeon says he made the right decision. The chaos and
complete lack of integrity that has characterised Boris Johnson's premiership has in the last few
days descended into complete and utter farce and all at a time when people in every part of the UK
are really struggling with very real challenges. So I think first and foremost, there will be an
overwhelming and very widespread sense of relief today that Boris Johnson's team as prime minister,
which should probably never have been allowed to happen in the first place, is coming to an end. I
do think it is quite incredible though to suggest that he will remain as prime minister for another
three to four months. I think the sooner he is out of number 10, and preferably that is today, the
better. More than 50 people resigned in protest at Mr Johnson's leadership. The Tory backbencher,
Andrew Bridgen, says he's glad he's going but thinks he'll be remembered as a successful leader.
I think history will be kinder to Boris Johnson than I probably will be today or for the next week
or two. Or maybe the public will be. He will be remembered as the man who got us through Brexit,
got us through Covid, two enormous emergencies, which most prime ministers would never see
either of those issues, no matter how long they served in government. He's got us through those.
But he’s made the right decision now and we need to move on.
The historian Anthony Seldon says Boris Johnson's brutal demise is unprecedented.
No premiership has ever gone down in flames like this one.
In 300 years of British premiership there have been 55 prime ministers. None has been
so spectacular, so public, so humiliating, and possibly so damaging, not just to the
reputation of this particular prime minister, but to the office of prime minister and the country.
Jonathan Marcus is a diplomatic commentator and a former BBC
journalist. He explains how events are being viewed internationally.
I think with considerable dismay, I think many may
feel that the British Prime Minister Boris Johnson has got his comeuppance.
I think what was fascinating about the external view of Britain throughout the whole Brexit drama,
was just the sense of incomprehension the sense of surprise. This idea that Britain, which had
always been a pragmatic, a common sense country, had taken this great leap into the unknown,
with no real clear sense of what its foreign policy was going to be in the future.
Boris Johnson says he won't be leaving Downing Street today,
or possibly anytime soon. He says he's going to wait until a new Conservative leader is chosen,
who will then replace him as prime minister. But that's what he wants. And as we know,
politics is unpredictable. Let's hear again now from Rob Watson.
The political crisis this morning was what would happen about the standoff between Boris Johnson
and the Conservative party? Well, he has lost that standoff. But now we're into it well, does he does
he stay until there's a new leader or does there need to be an interim leader? And obviously, the
problem that Boris Johnson faces is that there are many in his party who think well hang on a minute,
if we're getting rid of him, because he's unfit for high office, we don't think he's truthful,
ee don't trust his judgement, why would you leave him there any longer than absolutely
necessary? But he seems to be, you wouldn't be surprised to hear this, rather determined to stay.
Finally, Leila Nathoo looks back at Boris Johnson’s political career.
I have just been to see Her Majesty the Queen,
who has invited me to form a government and I have accepted.
Boris Johnson took office after years of political turmoil in the wake of the Brexit referendum.
His path to the top via Eton and Oxford University was well trodden.
He first came to public attention as a journalist through TV appearances,
and later as an MP. Winning the race for London mayor in 2008 mishaps like getting stuck on a
zip wire during the Olympic Games only seemed to add to his celebrity status, and a cameo
alongside Barbara Windsor and EastEnders, all part of his persona as the charismatic frontman.
But there was unwanted press attention too in terms of his private life, which included two
divorces several affairs and an undisclosed number of children. In 2020, he divorced his
wife of 27 years and married former Conservative adviser Carrie Symonds. The couple went on to have
two children. He first reached high office at Westminster as Theresa May’s Foreign Secretary,
but attracted criticism for being careless with his words. Some saw Boris Johnson's unconventional
style as an advantage, pointing to his leading role in the victorious 2016 Leave campaign -
arguing that here was a man who could triumph against the odds. And he did easily win the 2019
Conservative leadership contest to become prime minister. Clashes with his own MPs over Brexit
left parliament in stalemate, and he pushed hard for a general election and following a decisive
win, the biggest Tory majority since 1987, and claiming traditional labour heartland seats, he
finally took the UK out of the EU. He spoke about an ambition to invest in infrastructure and tackle
regional inequality. His administration, however, was overtaken by a global health emergency,
and the man regarded as a political liberal, asked the British public to restrict their
way of life in radical ways. We will immediately close all shops selling non essential goods. The
Prime Minister warned many would lose loved ones before their time, but also insisted that the UK
could send coronavirus packing. News that the Prime Minister had himself contracted Covid-19
made international headlines. He recorded a series of video messages from self-isolation
in Downing Street. Although I am sequestered here in number 10 Downing Street I am thanks
to miracles modern technology, able to be in constant touch with my officials.
Mr Johnson was admitted to intensive care and spent three days in hospital.
Lockdown measures remained in place for longer than anyone had anticipated.
And arguments raised about whether he'd been too slow to impose restrictions,
or as some of his own MPs believed too quick to shut down the economy.
Dominic Cummings, once his closest adviser, played a pivotal role in his political downfall.
After resigning he went on the attack, saying Mr Johnson was unfit to be Prime Minister and fuelled
the stories which emerged about parties inside number 10 while the country was in lockdown.
After a police investigation, Mr Johnson was fined for a birthday celebration in the Cabinet Room. A
report by a senior civil servant blamed a failure of leadership. Others accused Mr Johnson of lying
about what went on. There were things we simply did not get right. And I must take responsibility.
The final straw for many was the mishandling of allegations against a Minister
Chris Pincher who was accused of sexual misconduct but subsequently promoted.
Boris Johnson was undoubtedly a divisive figure accused by some of using bluff and bluster to
cover up a casual relationship with the truth. But he was also that rare breed of politician
who could draw a crowd and inspire optimism. Having risen to the job he wanted so badly
and delivering a huge majority for the Conservative Party, He never had a chance
to deliver his vision for Britain. And that was a special edition of the Global News Podcast.