Here’s what you need to know. The immediate cause of the crisis was the fallout from the resignation last Thursday of Deputy Chief Whip Chris Pincher amid allegations he had abused two guests at a private dinner the night before. What got Johnson into deeper trouble, however, were the contortions Downing Street press officers indulged in when trying to explain why Pincher was ever in government. At first, when new reports emerged about Pincher’s historic behavior in light of his resignation, Downing Street denied the Prime Minister knew anything about the allegations, which related to Pincher’s time as foreign secretary. When it became clear that would not be the case, Johnson’s team said they were aware of the historical allegations but that they had been “resolved”. When it was revealed that one of the previously unreported allegations against Pincher had been upheld, Johnson’s spokesman explained that “resolved” could mean it had been upheld. Then on Tuesday morning, Simon McDonald, a former senior civil servant at the Foreign Office, revealed that Johnson had been told in person of the outcome of an inquiry into Pincher’s conduct, prompting a wave of resignations throughout the day.
What happens next?
Boris Johnson still controls his own destiny … for now. Conservative Party rules dictate that if a leader wins a vote of confidence then they are immune from another challenge for 12 months. Johnson survived a confidence vote on June 6. However, so deep is the current crisis that it is possible that the 1922 Committee of Conservative MPs will rewrite the rules to get rid of the Prime Minister. The committee met on Wednesday and decided to hold elections for new leadership on Monday. Once elected, the committee’s new executive will decide whether to change the rules and move forward with another vote of confidence — one that Johnson would be far more likely to lose. Until that point, the question is how much public humiliation Johnson can endure. Dozens of lawmakers have now quit the government and on Wednesday night a delegation of cabinet members descended on Downing Street to call for the Prime Minister to resign. One of them — UK Home Secretary Priti Patel — informed Johnson that the general view of the party was that he should go, a source close to Patel told CNN. More government ministers are almost certain to resign and opposition sources are talking about the prospect of defections.
What if Johnson resigns?
In the UK, the resignation of a prime minister does not automatically trigger a general election. If Johnson were to leave, the Conservative Party would hold an internal election to choose a new leader, who would then become prime minister. Johnson would likely remain in the post until a successor is chosen, as his predecessors Theresa May and David Cameron did when they stepped down in May 2019 and June 2016 respectively. Barring another resignation or snap election, the new prime minister will lead the UK until the next scheduled election in 2024.
