“The Prime Minister made the right decision.” British Foreign Minister Liz Truss called “calm and unity” after the resignation of Boris Johnson of the Conservative Party leadership, Thursday 7 July. This decision paves the way for the appointment of a new head of government in the United Kingdom. Franceinfo deciphers this process, which should take several weeks.
Boris Johnson will soon leave Downing Street
He found himself cornered. A fifty members of the British government announced their resignation, between Tuesday evening and Thursday morning, tired of seeing Boris Johnson splashed by repeated scandals. “We must ask that, for the good of the party and the country, you step down”wrote five of them to the Prime Minister on Wednesday.
After 48 hours of resistance, the leader of the Tories ended up giving in to pressure from his colleagues. “It is clearly the will of the Conservative Party that there is a new leader and therefore a new Prime Minister.”he said at a press conference outside Downing Street. In the United Kingdom, the leader of the party which has the majority in the House of Commons is indeed appointed head of government by the Queen, recalls the BBC*.
As there cannot be a power vacuum, Boris Johnson has announced he will remain in Downing Street until a new Tory boss is elected. This scenario had already occurred in 2019, when Theresa May had been replaced as leader of the party (and the country). “The process to appoint this new leader will start now and the timetable will be announced next week”said Boris Johnson. In the meantime, the curator has appointed a new cabinet to take care of day-to-day business.
The name of his successor will be known in several weeks
After the resignation of Boris Johnson, the Tories will therefore have to elect a new leader. To run, a deputy must have the support of at least eight of his colleagues, explains the Guardian*. If there are more than two, the candidates are first decided on by a series of votes by elected Conservatives, by secret ballot. One person is eliminated at the end of each round, until there are only two left. The last candidates in the running are then submitted to the vote of the party members.
This process should take several weeks: in 2019, it took a month and a half for Boris Johnson be named successor to Theresa May, recalls the Guardian. According to the daily, the curator also hopes to remain in office until the fall.
A motion of censure could hasten his departure
Boris’ departure Could Johnson step in sooner than expected ? In any case, this is what part of the British political class wants. “It is inconceivable that [Boris] Johnson remains in power (…). He must go”judged on Thursday a Tory deputy, quoted by the Guardian*. According to the British daily, several other party members have called on the Prime Minister to leave office immediately, to make way for an interim head of government.
The name of the Deputy Prime Minister, Dominic Raab, is notably advanced by several executives of the Tories. The conservative had already led on an interim basis for a few weeks, in the spring of 2020, when Boris Johnson was hospitalized after being affected by Covid-19.
At this stage, nothing forces the latter to leave his functions immediately. Opposition leader Keir Starmer, however, threatened to put a vote of no confidence if Boris Johnson was not leaving quickly, reports the BBC*. The leader of the Tories had already narrowly escaped a vote of no confidence within his party in early June, when 40% of Conservative MPs refused to renew their confidence in him.
In the event of a motion of censure, all British MPs will this time be called upon to speak. However, several Tories would have to vote with Labor for the text to be adopted. If the no-confidence motion is approved, the Conservative Party would have 14 days to form a new executive, the BBC said. In case of failure, new general elections would be organized.
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