British Prime Minister Boris Johnson on July 7 finally agreed to step down as Conservative Party leader, triggering a leadership election for a new Tory leader who will go on to become the new PM, according to reports from Downing Street.
Johnson, 58, will remain in charge at 10 Downing Street until the process of electing a new leader is completed by the time of the Conservative Party conference, scheduled for October. He is expected to formally announce his resignation.
The move came after days of high drama and a steady stream of resignations from his Cabinet since Tuesday and just minutes after his newly appointed Chancellor to replace Rishi Sunak wrote a public letter calling for him to “go now”.
His resignation will now trigger a leadership battle within the Conservative Party. The 1922 Committee is responsible for setting the timetable for a Tory leadership contest. To take part in the race, a Tory MP has to be nominated by eight colleagues. If more than two MPs put themselves forward and secure enough nominations to run for leader, a series of secret ballots are held to whittle them down.
UK Attorney General Suella Braverman, who chose not to resign from Cabinet saying her legal role made it incumbent upon her to carry on, had withdrawn her support from Johnson and threw her hat in the ring to take over as the next Conservative Party leader and future Prime Minister. Others expected to join the race include Zahawi and Foreign Secretary Liz Truss, with former Chancellor Rishi Sunak and former Health Secretary Sajid Javid among some of the others seen as likely contenders.