By Azuka Christopher
THUR, 07 JULY, 2022-theGBJournal| The British Prime Minister, Boris Johnson has agreed to an orderly hand over of power, ending the reign of one of the most controversial politicians in British history and following huge wave of ministerial resignations today.
Johnson had vowed to carry on despite the overwhelming rebellion against his continued stay in office, saying he has an overwhelming mandate of 14 million Brits.
The Prime Minister caved in after his new Chancellor Nadhim Zahawi, jumped ship barely 36 hours after his appointment, telling the PM that his situation is ‘’not sustainable and it will only get worse: for you, for the Conservative Party and most importantly of all the country. You must do the right thing and go now.’’
Zahawi was appointed to the role on Tuesday evening to try save the PM but after party members turned firmly against the PM he too had to throw in the towel. Most say his tenure has brought so much chaos in the country and within the Conservative party. Many feared his stance will throw the country into constitutional crisis.
60 Ministers resigned within 24 hours after the pressure to go began mounting leading to this morning’s report that the Johnson has spoken to the Tory 1922 Committee chairman Sir Graham Brady and agreed to step down from office.
But the revolt was triggered by the appointment into cabinet of former Deputy Chief Whip Chris Pincher, who had sexual misconduct allegations hanging over his head. Johnson had survived a confidence vote recently after investigation revealed he and some of ministers had violated COVID-19 rules in the thick of a country-wide lockdown.
His resignation now paves the way for the Tories to elect a new leader to be in place by the Conservative party conference in October.
First Minister of Scotland Nicola Sturgeon twitted after it became clear the PM was gone; ‘’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.’’
Johnson became prime minister in July 2019 after he won the Party’s leadership contest, and went on to win a historic general election five months later.
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