The Key Points In Boris Johnson's Resignation Speech

Boris Johnson has announced he is stepping down as leader of the Conservative party, which means there will soon be a new prime minister in Britain. When that happens, the queen will have worked with fifteen different prime ministers over her 70 year reign; Johnson was the fourteenth prime minister that Queen Elizabeth worked with. Johnson first got involved in politics as a member of Parliament in 2001; he went on to become the mayor of London from 2008 to 2016, and he became prime minister in 2019, per Los Angeles Times.

During his time as prime minister, Johnson landed himself in hot water more than once. Among others, his shutting down parliament in 2019 was deemed illegal, his home secretary was accused of bullying staff, two ethics advisers quit, and of course, "Partygate," per Independent. "Partygate" was the discovery that during COVID lockdowns, government officials had parties that were illegal under COVID restrictions, including at 10 Downing Street, and Johnson attended some of them, via CBS News. He hung on to his position after a June vote of no confidence called for by his party, according to NPR. But his luck seems to have run out, and Johnson announced he was officially stepping down.

In his speech announcing his resignation as prime minister, Boris Johnson spent time extolling what he saw as his accomplishments and the accomplishments of the Conservative party leading the country like Brexit, being the fastest European country at ending COVID lockdowns, and supporting Ukraine during the Russian invasion.

Johnson did hint at what was happening behind the scenes over the past week or so as he tried to keep his position; he had "tried to persuade my colleagues that it would be eccentric to change governments when we are delivering so much." He also seemed to hint at a warning for others in politics, saying that "at Westminster, the herd is powerful and when the herd moves, it moves, and my friends in politics, no one is remotely indispensable."

He didn't directly acknowledge any of the scandals that led to his stepping down, but he did start the speech by saying "It is now clearly the will of the parliamentary conservative party that there should be a new leader of that party." The timeline for when there will be a new prime minister will be next week, and Johnson will serve in the position until there's a new leader officially chosen.

Conservative lawmakers will narrow down the field to two candidates and then the Conservative party public will vote by mail for the new leader, per Reuters. The next general election is scheduled for January 2025, via BBC.