Tag : Raab

London : Boris Johnson is to resign on Thursday as Conservative leader but will push to stay on as prime minister until autumn after his chancellor, Nadhim Zahawi, called on him to go and a string of cabinet ministers walked out. His resignation brings to an end an extraordinary standoff after multiple cabinet ministers pressed him to resign and more than 50 ministers quit because of his mishandling of a string of scandals. A No 10 spokesperson said: “The prime minister will make a statement to the country today.” However, he is expected to push to stay on as prime minister until the autumn while a Conservative leadership [https://www.theguardian.com/politics/conservative-leadership] contest takes place. He is likely to face intense pressure from his cabinet and MPs to go further and resign as prime minister as well, making way for a caretaker leader such as Dominic Raab, the deputy prime minister, or Theresa May, Johnson’s predecessor. Two ex-ministers said it was not possible for Johnson to stay until the autumn. One said: “He needs to be gone by tonight. Raab should take over.” Another said: “He needs to hand in the seals of office today and go, so we can have a caretaker PM.” The revolt began on Tuesday evening with the resignations of Sajid Javid and Rishi Sunak [https://www.theguardian.com/politics/2022/jul/05/sajid-javid-and-rishi-sunak-quit-throwing-boris-johnsons-future-into-doubt] as health secretary and chancellor respectively. Johnson faced the prospect of a second vote of no confidence as soon as next week, with elections to the executive of the backbench 1922 Committee due to be held on Monday and likely to result in a change to the rules. His exit follows three years of scandals, including fury over his handling ...