Vulcan Insight | “Thems the breaks” – End of the road for Boris Johnson

After an extraordinary 36 hours that saw almost 50 MPs resign from Government, Boris Johnson eventually saw the end of the road of his premiership on Thursday. After refusing to resign just the night before, at 12.30pm he stepped out of 10 Downing Street to announce his resignation as Conservative Party Leader, setting in motion also the end of his tenure as Prime Minister.  

Mr. Johnson, who had made a career out of surviving political scandals, finally ran out of road this week. His handling of the Chris Pincher affair, a former deputy chief whip who quit after allegedly assaulting two men while drunk at a private members’ club, was the straw that broke the camel’s back for many in his parliamentary party.

Even after the resignations of senior cabinet ministers such as those by the Chancellor of the Exchequer, Rishi Sunak, and Health Minister, Sajid Javid, on Tuesday evening, there were rumblings that Johnson would attempt to stumble on with a dramatic reshuffle. However, since Tuesday night, a steady drip-feed of resignations ensured the end of his tenure.

Speaking outside of Downing Street on Thursday, Mr. Johnson acknowledged that “in politics, no one is remotely indispensable,” adding that “I want you to know how sad I am to be giving up the best job in the world, but them’s the breaks.” Referencing a future successor he said that “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.”

In Dublin, Johnson’s demise has been viewed with cautious optimism. In a statement from the Taoiseach’s office, Micheál Martin praised Johnson for leading the UK Government through a challenging time, referencing Covid and the war in Ukraine. However, when referencing the Good Friday Agreement, the Taoiseach noted that “relationships between our governments has been strained and challenged in recent times.”

Many officials in Dublin are privately relishing the potential for a new leader to set a new course for Anglo-Irish relations and Anglo-EU relations.

In terms of future leadership, Rishi Sunak, the former Chancellor, who had been tipped for months as a potential future Prime Minister, saw his stock dipped significantly recently with a scandal around his wife’s tax status. Foreign Secretary Liz Truss is also another credible option, as well as Defence Secretary Ben Wallace, who is well-received due to his strong performance on the war in Ukraine.

Questions now remain as to what Johnson does now. While he appears to want to continue as a caretaker until a conservative leadership election can take place, this may take months. Meanwhile, others want him out of the top job as soon as possible. What course he and the party will eventually take, remains to be seen.

Johnson may have resigned his premiership, but Johnson will be in the spotlight for quite a while yet.

Compliments of Vulcan Consulting – a member of the EACCNY.