British Prime Minister Boris Johnson was finally forced to step down today after more than fifty of his cabinet ministers had resigned and his own Tory Party urged him to face the fact that he could no longer stay in power. Even after the mass resignations, Johnson had vowed to “fight” to remain in power but finally admitted today that the “herd instinct” in favor of his leaving was too great. He agreed to leave, announcing his decision in a press conference, which he used to tout what he said were the many achievements of his government—in the midst of one of the U.K.’s worst economic and political crises, which he helped to create—expressing resentment that he was forced to step down.
Johnson had proposed, however, that he remain in office for a few months as a caretaker government until a replacement could be found. That plan was quickly dashed as leading Tory MPs—as well as the Labour Party leadership—demanded his immediate departure. One senior Tory quoted by the Guardian said that Johnson’s behavior over the previous 24 hours had been so “reckless and erratic that he cannot be trusted to lead the country until autumn. God knows what he would do.”
