Boris Johnson Steps Down — Why & What’s Next

Felicia Sim
10 min readAug 7, 2022

2022 — Boris Johnson steps down

On May 7th, Boris Johnson, then Prime Minister of the UK, announced that he will be stepping down as Prime Minister and leader of the ruling Conservatives. This was right after two senior UK government ministers, Chancellor Rishi Sunak and Health Secretary Sajid Javid, announced their resignations, stating that they could no longer work for a government mired in scandal. Subsequently, more ministers (including Northern Ireland secretary Brandon Lewis) quit too.

However, that is not to say that Mr Johnson would step down immediately, he is still Prime minister for now and will only step down when his successor is chosen, which is likely to be on 6th September 2022.

While Boris Johnson’s term is definitely coming to an end, let us consider the legacy of his term. What has he achieved during his term? What led to the political downfall and resignation of Boris Johnson? What’s next for the future of the UK political scene?

2019 — A new Prime Minister was elected

Back on 24th July 2019, Boris Johnson was elected to be Prime Minister of the UK following the resignation of his predecessor, Theresa May, who resigned after failing to get parliamentary support on a deal agreed with the EU on how the UK will implement Brexit.

What did Boris Johnson achieve during his term as the Prime Minister?

Boris Johnson’s term and accomplishments were varied. While his ability to finalise the Brexit agreement (What his predecessor failed to do) will undeniably form part of his legacy, he has faced criticisms regarding the handling of the COVID-19 pandemic. As mentioned in this article later, he was also the subject of many controversies. Boris Johnson’s main accomplishments/blunders during his term have been summarised below.

  1. Brexit: Before becoming Prime Minister, Boris Johnson pledged to have the “no deal Brexit”, which meant that the UK would leave the EU regardless of whether they were able to negotiate a deal with them. It was on January 31st 2020, three and a half years after the referendum that the UK officially left the EU, beginning an 11-month transition period.
  2. COVID Pandemic: Based on a parliamentary report, the government headed by Boris Johnson has been criticised for waiting too long to impose lockdowns to contain the disease and leading to thousands of unnecessary deaths. Nonetheless, the Government funded British scientists and companies, which led to the successful development of one of the first few vaccines, and a national immunization program was quickly rolled out.
  3. Ukraine-Russian war: During Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, Boris Johnson’s government was quick to condemn Russia by imposing sanctions, and authorising billions in foreign aid and weapons shipments to Ukraine. The UK has also offered to train Ukrainian troops in their preparation for an invasion of Russia.

What contributed to Boris Johnson’s downfall?

Several factors contributed to Boris Johnson’s downfall. In particular, this author feels that COVID-19 had accelerated Boris Johnson’s downfall, with the fall in consumer confidence as UK’s economy took a hit while grappling with rising inflation.

A bunch of scandals had also cast Boris Johnson in such a negative light that many called for him to step down. The key factors which ultimately contributed to Boris Johnson’s downfall have been summarised below.

UK’s Economy and the Cost of Living Crisis

Owing to the Ukraine-Russia crisis which led to an increase in oil prices and the cost of food, inflation has risen sharply around the world.

In particular, for the UK, inflation hit 9.1%, which was the highest since March 1982. This leaves the UK with the highest inflation rate out of the 7 developed countries in the G7. The Bank of England also stated that inflation was likely to remain above 9% over the next few months before peaking at slightly above 11% in October when regulated household energy bills are due to rise again. According to a YouGov poll, 72% of those surveyed think that the government is handling the economy badly, and 75% think that it is doing poorly with inflation. Boris Johnson’s government was ultimately, unable to effectively manage the rising inflation, and caused much dissatisfaction among the British people.

UK inflation rates over the past 40 years (Source: BBC)

During the ongoing high inflation in the UK, many workers and unions are pushing for pay rises to cope with rising prices. However, the expectations they had weren’t met. The Rail, Maritime and Transport Union is calling for a pay rise of 7%, while employers have offered only a maximum of 3%. The National Education Union has also criticised government proposals of a 3% pay increase for most teachers in England, and called for an “inflation plus increase for all teachers”.

Furthermore, the government went ahead with a tax rise back in April — which comes at ill timing during UK’s rising inflation. National Insurance went up 1.25 pence in the pound, meaning that employees, businesses and the self-employed will have to pay an extra 1.25 pence per pound (1.25% increase since 1 pound = 100 pence). The government states that these will be spent on health and social care. However, the Opposition MPs noted that this definitely exacerbated the cost of living pressures.

Nonetheless, the government has also stepped in to help motorists in managing their rising fuel prices by announcing a 5p/litre cut to fuel duty — This was noted to be “the biggest cut to all fuel duty rates ever”.

It was not just the ordinary citizens who were losing confidence in Boris Johnson — his Government too were also losing faith in him. Boris Johnson had been ultimately criticised for having a lack of focus and ideas. Back then, when Boris Johnson was first elected, it was because he had a clear and comprehensible policy which was to “Get Brexit Done”. However, Boris Johnson, at present, had been criticised for lacking integrity, competence and vision by his fellow Conservative MPs. His ex-adviser turned chief critic, Dominic Cummings, had repeatedly accused him of “being an out-of-control shopping trolley, veering from position to position”.

Boris Johnson was also involved in many high-profile scandals, whereby his integrity and competence were questioned. A detailed breakdown of the scandals in which Boris Johnson was involved, is listed below.

List of Scandals

  1. Partygate
Boris Johnson photographed attending a gathering during the COVID lockdown (Source: BBC)

In April 2022, the Prime Minister, Boris Johnson, was fined for breaking lockdown rules, after attending a gathering of up to 30 people on his birthday in June 2020. Back then, most indoor gatherings involving more than 2 people were banned. He has also apologised for going to a “Bring your own booze” party in the Downing Street garden during the first lockdown — during which 30 people attended.

On the whole, based on the number of gatherings and events (which took place in Downing Street and Whitehall) held between May 2020 to April 2021, the UK Metropolitan police have issued more than 126 fines to 83 people for breaching lockdown rules in Downing Street and Whitehall. In December 2021, Boris Johnson had reportedly told the Commons (The House of Commons*) that “all guidance was followed completely in No 10”, and is also investigated by a Commons committee over whether he deliberately misled Parliament over the denial of breaching lockdown rules.

Nonetheless, a crucial report by Senior Official Sue Gray highlighted the fact that Boris Johnson failed to take responsibility for his staff’s behaviour for not following the lockdown rules when the rest of the country was doing so.

This negatively affected Boris Johnson’s reputation, with 65% of the voters thinking Boris Johnson should resign, and 76% thinking that Boris Johnson had deliberately misled Parliament over the parties' affair.

Note: House of Commons consists of 650 Members of Parliament (MPs) who are elected by the UK public. MPs consider and propose new laws. The House of Lords (the upper house of the Parliament) scrutinises bills that have been approved by the House of Commons.

2. Chris Pincher Scandal

Chris Pincher (Source: Wikipedia)

The Chris Pincher scandal is a political controversy involving Chris Pincher (obviously) related to allegations of sexual misconduct. On 29th June 2022, Chris Pincher had gone to a private members’ club in London, during which he was accused of groping 2 men. This led to a flurry of allegations of severe sexual misconduct against him, some dating back to 2017.

Many questioned Boris Johnson’s decision to appoint Chris Pincher as deputy chief whip** in February, although it was denied by the Government that Boris Johnson had any knowledge of any specific sexual misconduct complaints about Chris Pincher. It was nonetheless found out that Boris Johnson did have knowledge as a formal complaint had been personally lodged to him in person. His integrity was thus called into question and this sparked a major crisis for his Government.

Note: Whips are MPs or Lords appointed by each party entrusted with making sure there is party discipline in legislature. One of their key responsibilities is making sure the maximum number of their party members vote, and vote the way their party wants. To put it simply, whips are the party’s “enforcers”.

3. Owen Paterson Row

Owen Paterson (Source: BBC)

Owen Paterson was an MP who was accused of misusing his position as an MP to benefit the two firms that he had worked for, hence breaking lobbying rules. The House of Commons committee recommended a 30-day suspension for Paterson. However, the Conservatives, led by Boris Johnson, voted to pause his suspension, and set up a new committee to look at how investigations were carried out. The handling of the case ended disastrously with Owen Paterson resigning and the Conservatives being accused of corruption and covering up for their own MP. This took a toll on Boris Johnson’s reputation.

What’s next for the future of the UK political scene?

Rishi Sunak (Left) and Liz Truss (Right). One will be elected Prime Minister. Source: Guardian

With Boris Johnson stepping down, there are 8 qualifying candidates. However, Conservative MPs have narrowed the options down to a choice of two candidates — Foreign Secretary Liz Truss or Former Chancellor Rishi Sunak. One of them will be elected as Prime Minister in September 2022.

Below is a summary of key stances they took during the televised TV debate held at the end of July. What struck me in terms of Rishi & Liz’s differences would be these 2 issues: Cutting of Taxes & Foreign Policy.

Cutting back on taxes

Liz Truss believes that taxes should immediately be reduced (reversing the rise in National Insurance) and plans to scrap a planned rise in corporation tax (set to increase from 19% — 25% in 2023).

On the other hand, Rishi Sunak believes that taxes should only be reduced “once we’ve gripped inflation” Saying it is a matter of when but not if. He has stated that Liz Truss’ immediate tax cuts would cause a “short-term sugar rush” before pushing up inflation and interest rates. Additionally, Rishi Sunak has continued to support the planned rise in corporation tax.

Foreign Policy

Both Liz Truss and Rishi Sunak maintain Britain’s current approach to Russia and Ukraine — reiterating their support towards financially supporting Ukraine and imposing harsh sanctions on Russia, although there will be no direct military engagement with Russia. Liz Truss, in particular, has promised to spend 3% of GDP on defence by 2030.

On the approach to China, both seem to adopt harsh stances. In particular, Rishi Sunak has laid out his plans to shut down the United Kingdom’s 30 Confucius Institutes and proposed a “NATO-style international alliance” to counter Chinese cyber threats.

Conclusion

As of this time of writing, there is uncertainty over who will be the next Prime Minister in September 2022. However, according to a snap poll of 507 Tory* members, 50% of respondents stated that Truss performed better in the televised debate on BBC, compared to 39% for Rishi Sunak. Other polls have also shown his popularity trailing behind Liz Truss. Nonetheless, 43% see Rishi Sunak as more “prime ministerial” over the 42% opting for Liz Truss.

As for Boris Johnson, he was not the only UK Prime Minister to resign. The previous Prime Ministers, David Cameron and Theresa May had also handed in their resignations. David Cameron resigned shortly following the success of Brexit, while Theresa May resigned after failing to get parliamentary support on a deal agreed with the EU on how the UK will implement Brexit.

Nonetheless, it seems unlikely that Boris Johnson will continue to be part of the cabinet. When asked whether he wants Boris Johnson in his cabinet, Rishi Sunak stated “The simple answer is no. I think we need to look forward at this point.” To put it simply in Boris Johnson’s words, Hasta La Vista, baby.

Note: Tory (in the UK) refers to a member or supporter of the Conservative Party.

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Felicia Sim

Aspiring Writer, Content Creator, book enthusiast. Feel free to reach out to me at https://www.linkedin.com/in/felicia-sim/