Boris Johnson stepped down as British Prime Minister on Thursday after a string of resignations over the last two days, prompted by scandals, shook his administration.
In front of No. 10 Downing Street, Johnson noted in his resignation speech that a schedule for the contest for the new Prime Minister is to be announced next week.
Johnson said: "It is clear now the will of the parliamentary Conservative Party, that there should be a new leader of that party and therefore a new prime minister, and I've agreed with Sir Graham Brady, the chairman of our backbench MPs, that the process of choosing that new leader should begin now and the timetable will be announced next week."
Boris Johnson also announced that he will stay in his office until a new prime minister is elected and appointed new Cabinet members, according to Anadolu's report. However, there were still many vacancies for parliamentary private secretaries and junior ministry jobs.
Johnson Highlights Achievements
In his message, he thanked the millions of people who voted for the Conservative Party in 2019 and for the "incredible mandate, the biggest conservative majority since 1987."
Johnson explained that his reason for fighting "so hard" recently is for the continued fulfillment of that mandate because he felt it was his job to do so.
He also underscored the achievements of his administration: "from getting Brexit done to settling our relations with the continent for over half a century and reclaiming the power for this country to make its laws in parliament, getting us all through the pandemic, delivering the fastest vaccine rollout in Europe, the fastest exit from lockdown, and in the last few months, leading the West in standing up to Putin's aggression in Ukraine."
The outgoing prime minister reiterated that the UK "will continue to back" Ukraine's "fight for freedom as long as it takes."
Who Will Replace Johnson as UK Prime Minister?
As Johnson resigns, speculations are being made over which of the prominent political personalities in the current or past Cabinet ministers will announce their intention to contend for the UK prime minister position, per a CNBC report.
Former chancellor Rishi Sunak, former health secretary Sajid Javid, defense minister Ben Wallace, and current foreign secretary Liz Truss are noteworthy Conservatives who are viewed as potential candidates. Less prominent figures include trade minister Penny Mordaunt and former health minister Jeremy Hunt.
Only Attorney General Suella Braverman has formally declared her candidacy for the top government post thus far; the others have not yet expressed interest.
Meanwhile, the leader of the House of Commons, Mark Spencer, on Thursday addressed concerns about a shortage of ministers in the government.
He assured the public that "where there is a vacancy, those ministers will be appointed very soon" and the operation of those departments "will be up and running very quickly."
Since Tuesday, nearly 60 government members, including five cabinet ministers, have resigned in protest of the botched resignation of Chris Pincher, Johnson's ex-deputy chief whip, who got charged with groping two men last week.
The Institute for Government estimates that there are 122 government ministers, 28 of whom have resigned. According to CNN, this implies that close to a quarter of British government ministers have left their positions this week.
This week has also seen the resignation of 31 additional government employees, including trade envoys and parliamentary private secretaries.
However, Spenser assured: "There are many talented people on the benches behind me that will be able to take up those roles. They're probably all waiting by their phones."