The United Kingdom’s health and finance ministers – Sajid Javid and Rishi Sunak – resigned in quick succession late Tuesday night in what could well be the final blow to prime minister Boris Johnson, whose position was already under threat after a series of scandals that included multiple violations of Covid lockdown protocols and inquiries into refurbishments of 10, Downing Street.
The prime minister secured a narrow win last month’s confidence vote – that gave him 12 months’ immunity from another. However, even that may not be enough to protect him now that Sunak and Javed have walked out. Lawmakers from the ruling Conservative Party are already working to shorten that period. Boris Johnson’s time as UK prime minister, it appears, is nearing its end.
What next for Boris Johnson?
> The simplest would be for the prime minister to decide he has lost the support of his party and resign of his own volition. That seems unlikely; he has shown no signs of being willing to do this. In both January, April and May – as he fought off the ‘partygate’ scandal – Johnson refused to resign.
> If he won’t go on his own, Johnson may be forced out by the resignation of more cabinet figures, such as foreign minister Liz Truss and defence minister Ben Wallace. But media reports from the UK indicate neither is likely to quit at this time.
> Under current Conservative Party rules, Johnson cannot face another test of confidence from within his own ranks for a year.
Should that be changed, and given he only just survived last month’s vote after 148 of his MPs voted against him, the prime minister could be forced out.
Elections for the ‘1922 Committee’, which sets party rules, are due soon.
READ | ‘Will have to drag him kicking, screaming’: Boris Johnson on the brink
What is the process to elect a new Conservative leader?
If Boris Johnson were to be removed as leader of the Conservative Party, the ‘1922 Committee’ will oversee the selection of a new head who automatically becomes prime minister.
> Candidates must be nominated by two other Conservative lawmakers. This means there could be a large field of potentials.
> Multiple rounds of voting will be held, with each lawmaker asked to vote for his/her choice in a secret ballot. After each round the candidate with the fewest votes is eliminated. This continues till there are two candidates left. The wider membership of the party is then asked to choose a leader.
> How long this takes depends on how many candidates there are; in 2016 Theresa May became PM less then three weeks after David Cameron resigned.
READ | UK ministers Rishi Sunak, Sajid Javid quit in protest against PM Johnson
Who could replace Johnson as prime minister of the UK?
Liz Truss
The foreign secretary is the darling of the Conservatives’ grassroots and has regularly topped polls of party members carried out by the website Conservative Home. Truss, 46, was earlier international trade minister (a role in which she championed Brexit) in the Johnson cabinet and last year was made lead negotiator with the European Union.
On Monday she said the prime minister has her ‘100% backing’.
Jeremy Hunt
The ex foreign and health minister, 55, finished second to Johnson in the 2019 contest. He is seen as offering a more serious and less controversial style of leadership – a big plus point for many.
Earlier this year, he said his ambition to become prime minister ‘hasn’t completely vanished’ and Hunt was one of the many who stood against Johnson in last month’s vote.
Ben Wallace
Wallace, 52, is the defence minister and a popular figure within the party thanks, in large part, to his handling of the Ukraine crisis. A former soldier who served in Northern Ireland, Germany, Cyprus and central America, Wallace has seen his stock increase steadily over the past three years.
Rishi Sunak
The finance minister was, till last year, the odds-on favourite to replace Johnson. He won praise for rescue packages for the economy during the worst of the Covid pandemic, including an employment programme that could cost as much as $514 billion.
However, Sunak, 42, has also faced criticism, most notably over the domicile status of his wife Akanksha Murthy – the daughter of billionaire and Infosys co-founder Narayana Murthy.
Like Johnson, he too was criticised over Covid lockdown violations.
He quit Tuesday saying ‘the public rightly expect government to be conducted properly, competently and seriously’.
READ | ‘Can’t continue like this’: What Sunak said as he quit Johnson cabinet
Nadhim Zahawi
Zahawi, 55, has been appointed as Sunak’s successor but that does not rule him out from taking a shot at the prime minister’s post. Zahawi impressed as vaccines minister after Britain had one of the world’s fastest roll-out rates and last week said it would be a ‘privilege’ to be prime minister.
As a plus, his personal story – a former Iraqi refugee who came to Britain as a child – sets him apart.
READ | Sunak’s successor Zahawi’s family fled Saddam Hussein’s regime
Penny Mordaunt
Mordaunt, 49, is the former defence minister who was fired by Johnson when he took charge in 2019 because she had backed his rival, Hunt.
Like Truss, she too championed Brexit. She is now the junior trade minister and has called for ‘professionalism and competence’ from the government.
With input from Reuters
