UK Politics

An MP loyal to Boris Johnson shouted “wait and see” to protesters who turned out to watch his resignation, which some critics interpreted as a threat.Andrea Jenkyns defied the jeering and booing crowd, as she and other MPs left Downing Street after supporting Mr Johnson as he delivered his resignation speech.Raising a finger in the air for emphasis, Ms Jenkyns appeared to shout: “Those who laugh last, laugh loudest”, followed by “Wait and see”.The Brexit-backing MP, who is a member of the European Scrutiny Committee, is an ultra-loyalist to the prime minister.Mr Johnson said he was sorry that his arguments for staying on had failed to convince the party as he announced he would stand down after his successor had been agreed.RecommendedBoris Johnson resigns – liveHe blamed “a herd instinct” for his ousting, and thanked his family, the civil service and the NHS, adding: “Above all I want to thank you, the British public for the immense privilege that you have given me. And I want you to know that from now on, until the new prime minister is in place, your interests will be served and the government of the country will be carried on.”Soon afterwards, as she walked away from Downing Street, Ms Jenkyns also said the party would regret ditching Mr Johnson “like they did with Thatcher”, adding: “This will be a mistake.”One Twitter user wrote: “‘Wait and see’ – are we heading for the UK’s own ‘January 6’ insurrection?”On 6 January last year, supporters of Donald Trump, who refused to accept he had lost the US election, stormed the US Capitol. Five people were killed as the violent mob smashed through security barriers to go on the rampage inside.RecommendedAnother wrote: “Sounds like a threat that Johnson isn’t finished.”Many on social media made comments such as “Those who laugh last, didn’t get the joke.” More

Some reaction from the U.K. and around the world after British Prime Minister Boris Johnson said Thursday he would step down immediately as Conservative Party leader but remain as prime minister until the party chooses his successor: ___“The proposal for the prime minister to remain in office – for up to three months – having lost the support of his Cabinet, his government and his parliamentary party is unwise, and may be unsustainable.” — John Major, former Conservative U.K. prime minister.___“I’m not sure that anybody can look at Boris Johnson and conclude that he is capable of genuinely behaving as a caretaker prime minister. He will want to do things, and in the process of that undoubtedly cause more chaos than he has already.” — Scottish First Minister Nicola Sturgeon. Recommended___“Evict today or he’ll cause carnage, even now he’s playing for time & will try to stay.” — Dominic Cummings, Johnson’s former advisor, writing on on Twitter.___“He needs to go completely. He’s inflicted lies, fraud and chaos in the country … It’s obvious he’s unfit to be prime minister. That’s been blindingly obvious for a very, very long time.” — Keir Starmer, leader of the opposition Labour Party.___ “The departure of Boris Johnson opens a new page in relations with the U.K. May it be more constructive, more respectful of commitments made, in particular regarding peace & stability in Northern Ireland, and more friendly with partners in the EU.” — A tweet by Michel Barnier, the European Union’s former Brexit negotiator.___ “Finally. End of an undignified spectacle. Boris Johnson was all about maintaining power and his own ego … Now, British theatrical thunder should end.” — German politician Bernd Lange, co-chair of the EU-U.K. contact group at the European Parliament, writing on Twitter.“It’s obvious to everyone that liberal regimes are in a deep political, ideological and economic crisis. The situation of Britain’s half-decay causes concern. The loss of control, chaos, nosedive, that’s how it’s described by experts.” — Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova.___“As for Mr. Johnson, he dislikes us very much. We dislike him, too.” — Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov. Recommended___Follow AP’s coverage of British politics at https://apnews.com/hub/boris-johnson More

Tom Tugendhat or Jeremy Hunt are the frontrunners for next Tory leader after Boris Johnson stepped down, according to a poll of readers of The Independent.Twenty-four per cent of readers voted for Tugendhat, the MP for Tonbridge and Malling, with former health secretary Mr Hunt coming a close second, with 22 per cent of the vote.John B Ellis wrote in the comments: “Tom Tugendhat. He’s the one least compromised by association with the incumbent coterie of ghouls and fools, and he’s acknowledged an interest.”OrsonRyder added: “Looking at the possible contenders, there’s only one actually capable of the job and that’s Hunt, that’s not to say he’s any good.”The next most popular choice from a list of contenders, which included Ben Wallace (9 per cent), Penny Mordaunt (5 per cent), Rishi Sunak (3 per cent), Liz Truss (3 per cent), Sajid Javid (3 per cent) and Nadhim Zahawi (less than 1 per cent) was ‘other’, which got 19 per cent of the vote.RecommendedReaders who selected ‘other’, as well as ‘don’t know’ (2 per cent) or ‘don’t care’ (9 per cent) were asked to give their alternatives in the comments section of the article.The most popular alternative mentioned was Rory Stewart, despite him no longer being a Conservative MP, with 17 comments voting in his favour.Commenter Kenhubert wrote: “Why don’t you include Rory Stewart? Oh, right, the Tories are not a place where a decent man can survive.”Richinyork added: “If we have to have a Conservative Party government, then one led by Rory Stewart would at least have integrity and honesty. If they had any sense, they would be doing their level best to persuade him to return to politics.”Many commenters said they didn’t want a Conservative government, with 13 people mentioning they wanted Keir Starmer, the Labour leader to lead the country.Juliasophia wrote: “There were a few Tories but they’ve all been eliminated or eliminated themselves like Rory Stewart or Dominic Grieve. Sir Keir is an obvious choice. He seems – in his quiet way – to have reformed the Labour Party, with an impressive front bench.”Someone with the commenting name CarnabysWhiskers said: “Keir Starmer. Election now. If necessary, share power with Lib Dems. Priority one – proportional representation.”Another commenter called Perhaps? added: “Not Tory. Not UKIP. Our next government has to be Labour and we need to keep up the pressure to ditch the outdated FPTP [first past the post] and replace it with PR [proportional representation] to avoid another mess like the one we’re currently experiencing.”Other names mentioned by participants included Nadine Dorries, Michael Fabricant, Jacob Rees-Mogg, Suella Braverman, Alok Sharma, Tobias Ellwood or former MPs Dominic Grieve and Ken Clarke.Some people suggested Larry, the number 10 cat, Katie Price, Peppa Pig, Basil Brush or Kermit the frog as alternatives.MartyAotearoa said: “I voted ‘don’t care’ because there is no one in the Tory party fit to lead the country.”Commenter Jjjxtzjjj added: “The sad situation is truly one that anyone who wants the job isn’t fit to have it.”Adamois wrote: “It’s the Conservative government which needs to be replaced, not just its leader.”RecommendedThe reader poll had 640 votes. Tom Tugendhat got 156 votes, Jeremy Hunt 142 and ‘Other (let us know who in the comments)’ 121. The option ‘Don’t care’ got 59 votes, as did Ben Wallace. Penny Mordaunt got 33 votes, Rishi Sunak 19 and Liz Truss and Sajid Javid both got 17 votes each. Fourteen people chose ‘don’t know’ and Nadhim Zahawi got three votes.Follow the latest updates in our live politics blog and sign up for our politics newsletters via this page. More

Boris Johnson must not be allowed to stay at No 10 as a caretaker prime minister over the summer, Sir John Major has said.In an extraordinary intervention, the former Conservative PM has written to the chair of the 1922 Committee of backbenchers to suggest it would be “unwise” and “unsustainable” for him to stay on for up to three months.In his letter to Sir Graham Brady, Sir John said: “The proposal for the prime minister to remain in office – for up to three months – having lost the support of his cabinet, his government and his parliamentary party is unwise, and may be unsustainable.”The former PM said he was worried that Mr Johnson would still have the power to make vital domestic and foreign policy decisions, and maitains “the power of patronage” to make crucial appointments.“Some will argue that his new cabinet will restrain him. I merely note that his previous cabinet did not – or could not – do so,” the former PM warned.Sir John suggested deputy prime minister Dominic Raab could be made an acting prime minister until a new Tory leader was elected.RecommendedOr, he suggested, Tory MPs could elect the new leader who would become PM, with party members then asked to endorse the decision – effectively removing the members’ stage of the leadership ballot.The former PM admitted: “Neither of these options is ideal”, before saying the situation required “an imaginative response even at the risk of some bruised feelings within the party”.Sir John urged Sir Graham to make sure Mr Johnson should not remain “for any longer than necessary to effect the smooth transition of government”.Or, he suggested, Tory MPs could quickly elect the new leader who would become PM, with party members then asked to endorse the decision – effectively removing the members’ stage of the leadership ballot.The intervention comes as senior Tory MP Nus Ghani, deputy chair of the 1922 Committee, said Mr Raab should take over from Mr Johnson immediately on an interim basis.George Freeman – who quit as science minister earlier today – 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.”Rebel Tory Aaron Bell, a red wall MP from the 2019 intake, said: “I think it would be better for the country if we had a caretaker prime minister.” Business secretary Kwasi Kwarteng also suggested Mr Johnson should not stay until October, as has been suggested – saying a new leader is needed “as soon as practicable”.However, one senior Tory figure ridiculed Sir John’s “not very wise” idea and said people should accept a leadership contest can be complete by early September.“Over August very little happens in government – in some ways it couldnt fall at a better time,” they told The Independent. “Calm down and get on with the process of a replacement.”Despite frustration about Mr Johnson’s messy exit, one red wall MP told The Independent there was no “appetite” among backbenchers to push for Mr Raab to take over.Sir Bob Neill said in the Commons there is a “serious question mark” over how long a caretaker PM can remain in place given concerns about effective government, adding: “Might it be in everybody’s interests to speed up the transition as much as possibly can be?”Despite several vacant junior ministerial posts, Cabinet Office minister Michael Ellis insisted: “Government business will continue to function. Other secretaries of state can deal with the issues for other departments.” Tory MP Andrew Bridgen said he was worried about “further damage” Mr Johnson could do while he remains caretaker – but said he had been told it would be unconstitutional to install someone else immediately.He suggested Mr Johnson could still say he was “unwell” and let Mr Raab take over. Challenged on Sky News over whether Mr Johnson was unwell, Mr Bridgen said: “That depends on who you ask.”RecommendedLabour will stage a Commons vote to try to force Mr Johnson out of No 10 immediately, if he tries to stay on as caretaker.Keir Starmer urged Conservative MPs to “get rid of him” now – rather than serve a two-month interim period, while a successor is elected, saying: ”He can’t cling on in this way.” More

Here is the full text of British Prime Minister Boris Johnson’s resignation speech, delivered Thursday outside 10 Downing St:“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.“And I’ve 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’ve today appointed a Cabinet to serve, as I will, until a new leader is in place.“So I want to say to the millions of people who voted for us in 2019, many of them voting Conservative for the first time: Thank you for that incredible mandate, the biggest Conservative majority since 1987, the biggest share of the vote since 1979.Recommended“And the reason I have fought so hard in the last few days to continue to deliver that mandate in person was not just because I wanted to do so, but because I felt it was my job, my duty, my obligation to you to continue to do what we promised in 2019.“And of course, I’m immensely proud of the achievements of this government, from getting Brexit done to settling our relations with the continent for over half a century, reclaiming the power for this country to make its own laws in Parliament, getting us all through the pandemic, delivering the fastest vaccine rollout in Europe, the fastest exit from lockdown, and in the last few months, leading the West in standing up to Putin’s aggression in Ukraine.“And let me say now, to the people of Ukraine, that I know that we in the U.K. will continue to back your fight for freedom for as long as it takes.“And at the same time in this country, we’ve been pushing forward a vast program of investment in infrastructure and skills and technology — the biggest in a century. Because if I have one insight into human beings, it is that genius and talent and enthusiasm and imagination are evenly distributed throughout the population.“But opportunity is not, and that’s why we must keep levelling up, keep unleashing the potential ever every part of the United Kingdom. And if we can do that, in this country, we will be the most prosperous in Europe.“And in the last few days, I tried to persuade my colleagues that it would be eccentric to change governments when we’re delivering so much and when we have such a vast mandate and when we’re actually only a handful of points behind in the polls, even in mid-term after quite a few months of pretty relentless sledging and when the economic scene is so difficult domestically and internationally.“And I regret not to have been successful in those arguments and of course it’s painful not to be able to see through so many ideas and projects myself.“But as we’ve seen at Westminster, the herd instinct is powerful and when the herd moves, it moves.“And my friends in politics, no-one is remotely indispensable and our brilliant and Darwinian system will produce another leader, equally committed to taking this country forward through tough times.“Not just helping families to get through it, but changing and improving the way we do things, cutting burdens on businesses and families and yes, cutting taxes, because that is the way to generate the growth and the income we need to pay for great public services.“And to that new leader, I say whoever he or she may be, I say I will give you as much support as I can. And to you, the British public.“I know that there will be many people who are relieved and perhaps quite a few who will also be disappointed. And I want you to know how sad I am to be giving up the best job in the world.“But them’s the breaks.“I want to thank Carrie and our children, and all the members of my family who have had to put up with so much for so long.“I want to thank the peerless British civil service for all the help and support that you have given our police, our emergency services and, of course, our fantastic NHS, who at critical moment, helped to extend my own period in office, as well as our armed services and our agencies that are so admired around the world.“And our indefatigable Conservative Party members and supporters whose selfless campaigning makes our democracy possible. I want to thank the wonderful staff here at Chequers – here at Number 10, and of course at Chequers. And our fantastic prot force (protection force) detectives, the one group by the way, who never leak.“Above all, I want to thank you, the British public, for the immense privilege that you have given me and I want you to know that from now on until the new prime minister is in place, your interests will be served and the government of the country will be carried on.Recommended“Being prime minister is an education in itself. I have traveled to every part of the United Kingdom and, in addition to the beauty of our natural world, I have found so many people possessed of such boundless British originality and so willing to tackle old problems in new ways that I know that even if things can sometimes seem dark now, our future together is golden.“Thank you all very much. Thank you.” More

Boris Johnson has quit as prime minister but that didn’t stop him from appointing new cabinet members to try to ensure he can stay on as a caretaker prime minister until autumn.In a speech outside No 10 on Thursday afternoon, Mr Johnson confirmed he was leaving Downing Street and that the process of choosing a new Tory leader would begin imminently.He also said that he had “appointed a cabinet to serve, as I will, until a new leader is in place” – expected to be before the Conservative Pary conference in October.So, who has been appointed to the cabinet?Greg Clark – Levelling up SecretaryRecommendedMichael Gove, who was sacked on Wednesday, has been replaced by Tunbridge Wells MP Greg Clark, who will take on a government strategic priortity and has become levelling up secretary.Mr Clark, a staunch Remainer, has prior experience in government and was previously secretary of state for business, energy and industrial strategy under former prime minister Theresa May.Robert Buckland – Welsh SecretaryRobert Buckland has been appointed secretary of state for Wales, following the resignation of Simon Hart. Buckland is the MP for South Swindon but he hails from Llanelli in south Wales.Mr Buckland was only last year sacked by Mr Johnson in a reshuffle in September and has now rejoined the government, telling Sky News he wanted to “serve the country”.Kit Malthouse – Chancello of the Duchy of LancasterKit Malthouse’s new role means he is the most senior minister in the Cabinet Office after the prime minister.Mr Malthouse previously announced he was standing for Tory party leader after Theresa May’s resignation, before later pulling out of the race in June 2019. He was previously a junior minister at the Home Office.Shailesh Vara – Secretary of State for Northern IrelandThe MP for North Cambridgeshire replaces Brandon Lewis.Mr Vara, who campaigner for the UK to remain in the EU, previously resigned as Northern Ireland minister in November 2018 in opposition to Theresa May’s Brexit deal.Andrew Stephenson – minister without portfolioMr Stephenson has no portfolio but will attend cabinet. He previously served as the minister for state with responsiblity for HS2 and the Deparment for Transport and also held juinior roles in the whips office and Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy.RecommendedJames Cleverly – Education Secretary The MP for Braintree has been appointed education secretary and replaces Michelle Donelan. The Brexiteer has previously served as co-chairman of the Tory party and was also as minister for state for the Middle East and North Africa. More

Labour will stage a Commons vote to try to force Boris Johnson out of No 10 immediately, if he tries to stay on as a caretaker.Keir Starmer urged Conservative MPs to “get rid of him” now – rather than serve a two-month interim period, while a successor is elected, saying: ”He can’t cling on in this way.”“If they don’t get rid of him, Labour will step up in the national interest and bring a vote of no confidence because we can’t go on with this prime minister clinging on for months and months to come,” the Labour leader said.Asked if Tory MPs would “unite” behind the man in No 10 for the vote, Sir Keir argued: “I don’t think anything will unite this Conservative party. They are tearing each other apart.”He spoke out as Mr Johnson filled several vacant cabinet posts and apparently made plans for an afternoon meeting – even before he has formally announced his resignation.The moves are a clear signal of his intention to use the next two months to try to shape his legacy by making important policy decisions – flouting yet another part of the UK constitution.Worried senior Tories are lining up to demand he be removed immediately, with Dominic Raab, the deputy prime minister, serving as the caretaker.But there is no obvious mechanism to force Mr Johnson out before a successor is found, if he refuses to go willingly.Sir Keir said Mr Johnson had “inflicted lies, fraud and chaos in the country”, adding: “He’s unfit to be prime minister. That’s been blindingly obvious for a very, very long time.”Earlier, George Freeman, who quit as science minister, 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”.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.”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. More