This Is What Will Happen Next After Boris Johnson Resigns As UK Prime Minister

Boris Johnson has finally resigned as Prime Minister, but what happens now?

The 58-year-old has told staff that he will step down as leader of the Conservative Party after dozens of ministers, and some cabinet members, quit over his leadership.

The news follows on from weeks and months of controversy and scandal, which have eroded trust in Johnson's ability to remain in office.

He is now expected to give a statement later today (7 July), formally announcing his decision to leave No.10.

But depending on what he says, there are a couple of ways things could go.

If he decides to leave immediately, an interim leader will have to step in to fill the void - this is because constitutionally there must always be a prime minister in place.

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And with Dominic Raab being the deputy Prime Minister, he is the natural choice.

However, if he plans on throwing his hat into the leadership ring, this could give him an unfair advantage, in which case a more neutral candidate could be chosen.

On the other hand, if he says he will remain in office until a new leader is chosen, as Theresa May did back in 2019, not much will change until then.

Either way, a new leader of the Tory party and the country will be chosen over the coming weeks, with the decision made by Conservative MPs and party members.

Under the rules, which were set out in 1997, if more than two MPs decide to run, there will be multiple stages of voting.

The first will see MPs throw their support behind their desired candidate, with those with the least amount of backing being, or potentially those who don't reach the required threshold of votes, eliminated from the process.

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The final two candidates will then go to a straight vote of the membership. This involves weeks of public hustings, where each MP attempts to build support for their leadership bid.

The process will take a number of weeks and a new Tory leader is expected to be appointed by the time of the party conference in October.

If the new leader was able to gain the trust and confidence of the House of Commons, they would not have to call a general election, which under current rules is due to take place in 2024.

However, they may do so in order to secure their own mandate for leading the country.

Johnson's resignation comes after it was confirmed he had in fact been made aware of the inappropriate behaviour of Conservative MP Chris Pincher back in 2019. 

Pincher quit last week after being accused of groping two men at a club in London.

It later emerged he had previously been investigated over his conduct, with Johnson denying that he knew anything about them, and a number of ministers going on television to assure the public.

However, a spokesperson later confirmed that Johnson had been told about complaints three years ago. 

It led to a number of high profile resignations, including chancellor of the exchequer Rishi Sunak and health secretary Sajid Javid.

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