Boris Johnson finally lost control of power in No 10 following a string of resignations from ministers and will resign today, reports suggest, but who will replace him as Prime Minister?

His resignation follows a string of protests against his leadership.

Boris Johnson has spoken to Tory 1922 Committee chairman Sir Graham Brady and agreed to stand down, with a new Tory leader set to be in place by the party conference in October, a No 10 source said.

Boris Johnson resigns

Reports suggest No 10 staff have been told the Prime Minister is leaving and his resignation is ready.

 

The flurry of resignations began on Tuesday evening, led by Rishi Sunak and Sajid Javid who both quit their Cabinet posts.

Since then, more than 50 members of the Government went on to quit.

The Prime Minister’s authority had already been damaged by a confidence vote which saw 41% of his own MPs withdraw their support in June.

The loss of crunch by-elections in Tiverton and Honiton and Wakefield later that month triggered the resignation of party chairman Oliver Dowden, while there is still lingering anger over coronavirus lockdown-busting parties in Downing Street.

Tory MPs are also uneasy about the Government’s high spending, high taxing approach as a result of the response to the pandemic.

Who will replace Boris Johnson as Prime Minister?

The current betting odds place Penny Mourdant, MP for Portsmouth North, as the favourite to become the next leader of the Conservative Party, and therefore the next prime minister.

Also in the race according to the bookmakers are Rishi Sunak and Sajid Javid, whose high profile resignations sparked a flurry of exits from Government.

These are the favourites to take over from Boris Johnson:

  • Penny Mourdant – 9/2
  • Rishi Sunak – 9/2
  • Ben Wallace – 6/1
  • Liz Truss – 8/1
  • Sajid Javid – 8/1
  • Nadhim Zahawi – 9/1

Why have cabinet ministers resigned?

The controversy stemming from the resignation of Mr Pincher had engulfed Downing Street in recent days, as the Prime Minister faced questions about how much he knew of the allegations and rumours surrounding the Tory MP before he was appointed as deputy chief whip.

Mr Pincher quit as deputy chief whip last week following claims that he groped two men at the upmarket Carlton Club, but Mr Johnson knew about allegations against him as far back as 2019.

The Prime Minister acknowledged he should have sacked Mr Pincher when he was found to have behaved inappropriately when he was a Foreign Office minister in 2019, but instead Mr Johnson went on to appoint him to other government roles.

Asked if that was an error, Mr Johnson said: “I think it was a mistake and I apologise for it. In hindsight it was the wrong thing to do.

“I apologise to everybody who has been badly affected by it. I want to make absolutely clear that there’s no place in this Government for anybody who is predatory or who abuses their position of power.”