What's Going On at Downing Street?

A seismic shift in Britain’s politics took place last week, with a record 50 members of parliament resigning before seeing Prime Minister Boris Johnson step down from his post. Johnson won the position after the resignation of Theresa May, who served as Prime Minister and head of the Conservative Party (Tories) from 2016 to 2019. She ascended to the position following David Cameron’s resignation, which coincided with the “Brexit” referendum in 2016.

Johnson’s ties to Brexit as well as the COVID-19 pandemic would prove to be his undoing. Here’s what you should know.

WHY IS JOHNSON OUT?

Boris Johnson. (Wikimedia Commons/Annika Haas/EU2017EE)

Johnson, 58, was embroiled in a number of back-to-back scandals, including being fined by police for breaking COVID-19 lockdown rules that Parliament themselves imposed. After a special election that saw two once believed safe Conservative seats lost and the appointment of MP Christopher Pincher, who was under investigation for sexual abuse allegations, to a pastoral care seat, two senior ministers, Chancellor Rishi Sunak and Health Secretary Sajid Javid; resigned. This began a wave of MP resignations, culminating in Johnson resigning his post both as head of the Tories and as PM, though he will remain acting Prime Minister until another suitable candidate is elected.

WHAT BROUGHT JOHNSON TO POWER?

Johnson has been in government since being elected to Parliament in 2001. He was a journalist and a politician who moved regularly back and forth between both careers until his election to the post of Mayor of London in 2008. Johnson served as mayor until 2016, when he began spearheading the idea that the United Kingdom should exit the European Union (EU). This idea would be the domino that would lead to Johnson’s rise to power; the Brexit referendum, Johnson’s project, would lead to the unseating of David Cameron, and indirectly, Theresa May, as Conservatives have largely struggled to agree on what should be included in an exit deal from the EU in the first place.

WHAT ELSE HAPPENED DURING JOHNSON’S TIME IN OFFICE?

Stastically, the COVID-19 pandemic was largely mishandled by right-wing politicians around the world – Johnson included. The UK had one of the largest death tolls per-capita from COVID-19. Johnson also faced accusations of misappropriating funds to refurbish his personal office, and fines for breaking lockdown rules were issued to both him and his wife. Rumors that Conservative MPs and Downing Street staff were smuggling alcohol into illegal parties in the building proved true, drawing the ire of citizens who had stayed in lockdown and in some cases had even lost family members to the virus and had been unable to say goodbye.

WHAT’S NEXT?

Several Conservative MPs have thrown their names in the ring as Johnson’s possible successor. Eleven candidates have announced themselves as either definitely running or eyeing a run for the post. The MPs who run will be voted on by other MPs until two remain, at which point, Conservatives across the UK will vote for their choice. What’s on the table for the UK post-election will largely depend on the leader.'

Johnson’s replacement will be announced on September 5.