Markus Andrews

Conservative MP Ben Wallace is the favourite among Tory members to replace Boris Johnson as party leader and prime minister, new polling shows.The Defence secretary beats all other contenders in YouGov polling of Conservative members about who they would vote for.The pollster asked members who they would choose in a head-to-head contest, asking about various different scenarios with different candidates.In all scenarios containing Mr Wallace he wins by a significant margin, they found.The former soldier and MP for Wyre and Preston North, who has played a prominent role in the UK’s response to the war in Ukraine, also comes top of members’ preferences overall, though by a lesser margin.Tory rank-and-file members will ultimately decide who becomes prime minister but they will only get to choose between a final two candidates, whittled down from a larger field by Conservative MPs. This means Mr Wallace may not make the final two if he cannot build a big enough support base in the parliamentary party at Westminster.Mr Wallace beats Liz Truss by 48 per cent to 29 per cent, Penny Mordaunt by 48 per cent to 26 per cent, Rishi Sunak by 51 per cent to 30 per cent, and Jeremy Hunt by 58 per cent to 22 per cent.He comes top of a wide open field of candidates as the first preference vote with 13 per cent, just ahead of Ms Mordaunt on 12 per cent and Mr Sunak on 10 per cent.Liz Truss trails on 8 per cent while Michael Gove and Dominic Raab are on 7 per cent each. Tom Tugenhadt polls 6 per cent, just head of Jeremy Hunt and Nadhim Zahawi on 5 per cent and Sajid Javid on 4 per cent.But Tory members are only part of the story and all candidates will have to survive the earlier rounds of the contest and gain the approval of their fellow MPs.Preferences could also shift during the leadership contest itself, in which candidates – many of them relative unknowns – will lay out their stalls. Mr Wallace is yet to announce that he will stand in the contest.YouGov polling of party members’ preferences has in the past been broadly accurate in both Tory and Labour contests. The pollster quizzed a weighted sample of 716 members.Mr Johnson is expected to announce his resignation on Thursday after more than 50 MPs quit government jobs in protest at his handling of an alleged sexual abuse case by one of his political allies. More

Boris Johnson has finally agreed to resign as prime minister after days of immense pressure from cabinet and backbench MPs.Mr Johnson has been plagued by a series of scandals, including becoming the first prime minister in office to face police action after he was fined over attending parties at No 10 during the height of the Covid-19 lockdown.However, the straw that broke the camel’s back was his appointment of deputy chief whip Chris Pincher, despite previous allegations of inappropriate behaviour made against him.The dysfunction and continued controversies at the heart of Downing Street prompted a slew of ministerial resignations, including chancellor Rishi Sunak and health secretary Sajid Javid on Tuesday.Mr Johnson finally wilted under the strain of repeated calls for him to go and on Thursday he spoke to Sir Graham Brady, chairman of the Conservative 1922 Committee, to inform him of his decision to step down.He is expected to remain as prime minister until a successor is in place, expected to be by the time of the Conservative Party conference in October.The prime minister is reportedly writing his own resignation speech and is expected to make the announcement at 12.30pm. He has also started to appoint new ministers.After Mr Johnson’s resignation, the timetable for the Tory leadership contest will be agreed between members of the backbench 1922 Committee, which runs the parliamentary proceedings, to whittle the candidates down to two, and Conservative headquarters.But he is already facing backlash for planning to stay on as prime minister until autumn, with many calling for him to go now and be replaced in the interim by deputy prime minister Dominic Raab.George Freeman, who quit as science minister on Thursday morning, said that now Mr Johnson had “finally done the decent thing” he should “hand in the seals of office, apologise to Her Majesty, allow her to appoint a caretaker under whom ministers can serve, so the Conservative Party can choose a new leader properly”.Lord Barwell, who served as Theresa May’s chief of staff, said the leadership election must be “relatively quick” and there was a “question whether the PM will be able to lead a caretaker government in the meantime, will enough ministers agree to serve?” More

Boris Johnson is expected to make ministerial appointments shortly as he seeks to continue in office until a new Tory leader is elected.“The prime minister will shortly make new appointments to his ministerial team,” a No 10 source said.It comes as Mr Johnson prepares to announce his resignation, quitting as Tory leader in a statement to the nation on Wednesday. He aims to remain in office until his successor is elected by the Conservative Party – a process that could conclude in September.But some Conservative MPs have already raised doubts over whether the prime minister, who has haemorrhaged support in the last 48 hours, will able to fill ministerial posts in a “caretaker” government.The interim is normally uncontroversial, but never before has a prime minister initially refused to leave power after a cabinet revolt, or previously broken other laws and conventions.George Freeman, who quit as science minister today, tweeted: “Boris Johnson needs to hand in the seals of office, apologise to Her Majesty & advise her to call for a Caretaker Prime Minister To take over today”.It would allow ministers to “get back to work & we can choose a new Conservative Leader to try & repair the damage & rebuild trust”, he added.Keir Starmer, the Labour leader, also said Mr Johnson should go immediately, adding: “None of this nonsense about clinging on for a few months. Enough is enough”.Speaking in the Commons, however, Cabinet Office minister Michael Ellis said the government will continue to function, telling MPs “other secretaries of state can deal with the issues for other departments, constitutionally and legally in necessary circumstances”.“I cannot pre-empt the Prime Minister’s statement,” he said. “And the House and the nation will hear more very shortly, but Government and the civil service will continue to function in the meantime.“The business of the House statement will be made shortly, and members can ask questions of the Leader of the House of Commons about the matter of the business of this place.“But the House will continue to function, and Government business will continue to function.“Other secretaries of state can deal with the issues for other departments, constitutionally and legally in necessary circumstances.” More

Politicians in the UK have been reacting to the sudden annoucement that Boris Johnson is to resign as prime minister.Mr Johnson faced a deluge of ministerial resignations and a cabinet rebellion that prompted him to speak to Sir Graham Brady, chairman of the Conservative 1922 Committee, to inform him of his decision to stand down.The prime minister is expected to say he wants to remain in place until a successor is in place, which will reportedly be by the time of the Conservative Party conference in October.Labour leader Keir Starmer said it was “good news” that Mr Johnson had resigned but that it “should have happened long ago” and called for a “proper change of government”.He said: “He was always unfit for office. He has been responsible for lies, scandal and fraud on an industrial scale. And all those who have been complicit should be utterly ashamed.“The Tory party have inflicted chaos upon the country during the worst cost-of-living crisis in decades. And they cannot now pretend they are the ones to sort it out.”“They have been in power for 12 years. The damage they have done is profound.“Twelve years of economic stagnation. Twelve years of declining public services. Twelve years of empty promises.“Enough is enough. We don’t need to change the Tory at the top – we need a proper change of government.”Labour MP Chris Bryant, a frequent critic of Mr Johnson, greeted the news with a simple, “He’s toast. He’s going”.He added on Twitter: “He can’t stay on for three more months. That’s preposterous. And dangerous.”Mr Bryant’s party colleague Ian Lavery was also concerned about Mr Johnson’s reported decision to stay in post for a further few months.He said on Twitter: “I seriously worry about @BorisJohnson departure date. What decisions he could make between now and then could hugely impact on the the nation. If he resigns today he should be gone today.Meanwhile, George Freeman, who announced he was resigning as science minister on Thursday morning, said the prime minister must apologise to the Queen and advise her to call for a caretaker prime minister.He tweeted: “Boris Johnson needs to hand in the seals of office, apologise to Her Majesty and advise her to call for a caretaker prime minister.“To take over today so that ministers can get back to work and we can choose a new Conservative leader to try and repair the damage and rebuild trust.”Scotland’s first minister Nicola Sturgeon also questioned whether it was “sustainable” for him to remain in the role until the autumn and said there was a “widespread relief” he was quitting.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?“Boris Johnson was always manifestly unfit to be PM and the Tories should never have elected him leader or sustained him in office for as long as they have.“But the problems run much deeper than one individual. The Westminster system is broken.”However, offering a contrasting view, veteran Tory MP David Davis has said he is “not too bothered” about Mr Johnson remaining in power until later this year. He told BBC Radio 4’s Today programme: “The simple truth, this is going to take a month or two.“We’re hearing from people who were happy to be in Cabinet one week ago that we have now got to do this in five minutes flat.“I’m not too bothered about the idea of Boris staying in place until we’ve got a new leadership.”Wales first minister Mark Drakeford said he was “pleased” Mr Johnson will be resigning and called for a general election to determine the next prime minister.He said on Twitter: “I’m pleased the prime minister has now done the right thing and agreed to resign. All four nations need a stable UK government.“The way to achieve that is by a general election so the decision about the next prime minister is made by the people and not by the narrow membership of the Conservative party.”And David Lammy, Labour’s shadow foreign secretary, did not mince his words about the soon-to-be former Tory leader.He said on Twitter: “Good riddance to the most dishonest, incompetent and amoral Prime Minister in modern British history. He should never have been allowed to dishonour Number 10. “Now it’s time to boot his Party of acolytes and sycophants out of power and give Britain a fresh start.”Labour MP Zarah Sultana was similarly unequivocal in her condemnation of the prime minister.She said on Twitter: “Today I’m thinking about the time Boris Johnson mocked Muslim women as ‘bank robbers’ & ‘letterboxes’ — sparking a 375% rise in Islamophobic incidents — & much of the political class shrugged their shoulders & let him off. Good riddance to Boris. Shame on those who enabled him.” More

Boris Johnson will cause “carnage” if he’s allowed to stay on as caretaker prime minister during a leadership contest, Dominic Cummings has said.The former chief advisor to Mr Johnson called for his former boss to be “evicted today”, saying he is “playing for time and will try to stay”.He said deputy prime minister Dominic Raab should be made interim prime minister by Thursday evening.Mr Johnson is set to step down as prime minister today, but has signalled he intends to stay on as a caretaker until a new Tory leader is elected, probably in October – creating a two-month period of uncertainty.The interim is normally uncontroversial, but never before has a prime minister initially refused to leave power after a cabinet revolt, or previously broken other laws and conventions.On Thursday morning, Mr Cummings tweeted: “Evict today or he’ll cause carnage, even now he’s playing for time and will try to stay.“No ‘dignity’, no ‘interim while leadership contest’. Raab should be interim PM by evening.”The news of Mr Johnson’s imminent resignation came after a fatal onslaught of resignations in protest over his leadership.Worried senior Tories have said they wanted him to be forced out of No 10 immediately, fearing further damage after he bent the constitution in a desperate bid to stay in power.The slew of more than 50 resignations continued on Thursday morning, with Michelle Donelan’s departure as education secretary just 35 hours into the role making her the fifth cabinet minister to quit.Mr Johnson’s new chancellor Nadhim Zahawi also publicly urged him to “do the right thing and go now”, as Suella Braverman revealed ambitions to replace him as prime minister while still in post as attorney general.The dramatic collapse in support came after it emerged Mr Johnson promoted Tory MP Chris Pincher to a role with responsibility for MPs’ welfare, despite knowledge of misconduct claims against him. More

Newly appointed chancellor Nadhim Zahawi publicly called on Boris Johnson to resign, telling the prime minister: “You must do the right thing and go now.”The dramatic intervention came just two days after Mr Zahawi was appointed to replace Rishi Sunak, who quit as chancellor on Tuesday.A source close to Mr Zahawi made clear he is not resigning, however, adding: “The country needs a chancellor and he will serve as long as he’s asked to do so.”Moments after the new chancellor’s call for Mr Johnson to resign, Michelle Donelan, who was promoted to education secretary two days ago, also quit her role.Earlier on Thursday morning, Brandon Lewis, the Northern Ireland secretary, resigned, telling Mr Johnson in a scathing letter that government requires “honesty, integrity and mutual respect”.Mr Zahawi’s call came following another day of high drama at Westminster, which saw the PM hit with an avalanche of ministerial resignations. But he dug in and refused to resign.Later on Thursday, Mr Johnson finally decided to call it a day. He was due to announce his resignation imminently.Despite vowing to “fight on” just last night, the prime minister spoke with the chairman of the Conservatives’ 1922 Committee and agreed to stand down.It is expected he will remain in post until a new Tory leader is in place by the party’s annual conference in October, a No 10 source said.A Downing Street spokesperson added: “The prime minister will make a statement to the country today”.It came after two more cabinet ministers also left government. Michael Gove, the levelling up secretary, was sacked and branded a “snake” by No 10.Simon Hart, the Welsh secretary, also resigned on Wednesday night. He had been among a “delegation” of cabinet ministers who went to No 10 to tell him that he should listen to the overwhelming view of his party. More

Worried senior Tories want Boris Johnson to be forced out of No 10 immediately, fearing further damage after he bent the constitution in a desperate bid to stay in power.The outgoing prime minister has signalled he intends to stay on as a caretaker until a new Tory leader is elected, probably in September – creating a two-month period of uncertainty.The interim is normally uncontroversial, but never before has a prime minister initially refused to leave power after a cabinet revolt, or previously broken other laws and conventions.George Freeman, who quit as science minister today, tweeted: “Boris Johnson needs to hand in the seals of office, apologise to Her Majesty & advise her to call for a Caretaker Prime Minister To take over today”.It would allow ministers to “get back to work & we can choose a new Conservative Leader to try & repair the damage & rebuild trust”, he added.Nick Gibb, the former schools minister, said: “As well as resigning as Party leader the PM must resign his office.“After losing so many ministers, he has lost the trust and authority required to continue. We need an acting PM who is not a candidate for leader to stabilise the government while a new leader is elected.” David Frost, the former Brexit minister, agreed that Mr Johnson “cannot now credibly be a caretaker Prime Minister while a leadership election is taking place”.“We have a Deputy PM who can straightforwardly fulfil that role and he should,” he added – referring to Dominic Raab.Dominic Cummings, Mr Johnson’s former aide and now bitter enemy, was blunter: tweeting: “Evict TODAY or he’ll cause CARNAGE.“Even now he’s playing for time & will try to stay No ‘dignity’, no ‘interim while leadership contest’. Raab shd be interim PM by evening.”And Ruth Davidson, the former Tory leader in Scotland, warned: “There’s no way he can stay on until October. It’s arrant nonsense to think he can. Someone needs to grip this.”Other prime ministers have used a caretaker period to shape their legacy, notably Theresa May who passed the landmark legislation committing the UK to net zero carbon emissions.Mr Johnson will be keen to do the same – and has the added motivation of needing to stay in Downing Street for another 28 days to outlast his predecessor.Extraordinarily, Mr Johnson is thought to still be planning a big economic speech in the next few weeks, to shape momentous decisions on future Treasury policy – including, possibly, tax cuts.Today, the Office for Budget Responsibility, the independent Treasury watchdog, warned taxes must rise to avert an “unsustainable” tax burden. More

Boris Johnson will imminently announce his resignation after facing mass resignations from the ministerial ranks and a cabinet revolt.Despite vowing to “fight on” just last night, the prime minister has spoken with the chairman of the Conservatives’ 1922 Committee and agreed to stand down.It is expected he will attempt to remain in post until a new Tory leader is in place by the party’s annual conference in October, a No 10 source said.A Downing Street spokesperson added: “The prime minister will make a statement to the country today”.Sir Keir Starmer welcomed the news, but said: “It should have happened long ago. He was always unfit for office.“He has been responsible for lies, scandal and fraud on an industrial scale. And all those who have been complicit should be utterly ashamed.”The Labour leader added: “Enough is enough. We don’t need to change the Tory at the top – we need a proper change of government. We need a fresh start for Britain.”Scotland’s first minister and SNP leader Nicola Sturgeon also questioned whether it was “sustainable” for him to remain in the role until the autumn.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?The prime minister won the Tories’ biggest majority in decades at the 2019 general election, but his premiership has been destablised in recent months by multiple scandals.And in the last 48 hours the prime minister has haemorrhaged support among all wings of the party, suffering the resignations of his chancellor Rishi Sunak and dozens of other ministers.In total 57 have resigned or have been sacked from the government since Tuesday evening. It is the equivalent of a third of the total “payroll vote” in the House of Commons – the number of MPs who hold positions from which they would have to resign in order to oppose the government.The 57 comprises six cabinet ministers, 22 ministers, 22 parliamentary private secretaries, four trade envoys and three vice-chairs or deputy chairs of the Conservative party.Once Mr Johnson officially announces his resignation, the timetable for a contest is agreed by the 1922 Committee and Tory Party HQ, with a new Tory leader expected to be in place by the party conference in October. More