The Prime Minister Boris Johnson has agreed to stand down as Conservative Party leader
Speaking at the Downing Street lectern he said that
“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.
“I have 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.”
Amongst the people appointed to cabinet this morning James Cleverly is the new Education Secretary, Greg Clark is the new Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities and Sir Robert Buckland has been appointed as the new Welsh Secretary
Kit Malthouse has been appointed to the role of Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster, Shailesh Vara has been appointed Northern Ireland Secretary and Andrew Stephenson has been appointed as Minister without Portfolio
However there is a growing view among ministers that Boris Johnson should go immediately and Dominic Raab should become interim PM and reappoint all resigned ministers
Kwasi Kwarteng, the Business Secretary, said there needs to be a new leader of the Conservative Party “as soon as practicable” as he bemoaned the “depressing state of affairs” in Westminster while former schools minister Nick Gibb has said Boris Johnson should step down as Prime Minister immediately.
Nicola Sturgeon has also questioned whether Boris Johnson will be able to serve as caretaker PM while his successor as Tory leader is chosen.
She tweeted:
“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?”
While Greater Manchester Mayor Andy Burnham tweeted
A Prime Minister who has been deemed unfit for office needs to leave straight away, not spin it out until the autumn.
Angela Rayner speaking in The Commons said that “We do not have a functioning Government. They’re unfit for office.”
“This Prime Minister is a threat to national security.He needs to go – and go now.”
Their words were reflected in a letter to Sir Graham Brady from former Tory prime minister Sir John Major whi said as he warned it would be “unwise” for the premier to remain in No 10 as a caretaker.
He added: “For the overall wellbeing of the country, Mr Johnson should not remain in Downing Street – where he is unable to command the confidence of the House of Commons – for any longer than necessary to effect the smooth transition of Government.”
