Boris Johnson Resigns As Conservative Party Leader But Not As Prime Minister, Causing Memes And Confusion About U.K. Politics

A whirlwind 48 hours in the British government now stands with Boris Johnson, having suffered mass resignations from his cabinet, resigning as U.K. Conservative Party leader but signaling his intention to stay on as Prime Minister until the autumn or indefinitely.

The wave of major political news out of the U.K. government, which can be inscrutable to those outside of it, has led to confusion as to what exactly is going on, as evidenced by this tweet from NBC News reporter Ben Collins.

Johnson has suffered a wave of political scandals in recent months, including the revelation he held several parties in violation of the U.K.'s COVID lockdown protocol in 2020 that became known as Partygate, Tory losses in two special elections, and a parliamentary vote of no confidence in Johnson in which 41 percent of conservatives voted to remove him from office — a greater number than what former Prime Minister Theresa May received ahead of her resignation from the position.

It appears a recent scandal involving sexual misconduct allegations against former Deputy Chief Whip Chris Pincher proved the tipping point for members of his cabinet. An investigation into Pincher occurred in 2019, yet Johnson appointed Pincher to the position in February 2022.

Johnson initially claimed he wasn't aware of the allegations against Pincher, but after U.K. Foreign Office civil servant Simon McDonald said he had personally briefed Johnson on the allegations at the time of the investigation, Johnson changed his story to say he had simply forgotten.

The scandal led Treasury Chief Rishi Sunak and Health Secretary Sajid Javid to formally tender their resignation from Johnson's cabinet, and over 50 other members of government followed suit. Faced with a growing lack of confidence from his party, Johnson resigned as Tory leader this morning.

"In the past few weeks, I have been trying to convince my colleagues it would be eccentric to change governments when we have achieved so much," he said in his speech outside No. 10 Downing St. "I regret not to be successful in those arguments and, of course, it’s painful not to be able to see through those projects myself."

Johnson also stated his intention to stay on as Prime Minister until a new Conservative Party leader was elected, but that plan was also met with pushback from politicians who felt a "lame-duck" PM with many vacant cabinet positions would be unable to effectively govern.

Rishi Sunak's replacement, Nadhim Zahawi, initially backed Johnson on Wednesday but quickly changed his tune in a tweet urging Johnson to step down as Prime Minister.

The wild times at Downing Street flabbergasted those outside the U.K., particularly Americans who rarely see such a massive political upheaval and struggle to reckon with the U.K.'s seemingly byzantine system of government.

It looks like the chaos in the U.K. won't resolve until Johnson resigns as Prime Minister, which at the moment seems more likely than him powering through with a shoestring government until a new Tory leader is elected.