British Prime Minister Boris Johnson is under increasing pressure from his own Conservative party to resign. In the British political system, between elections, only Conservative MPs have the power to remove a sitting Conservative Prime Minister.
Here’s how it could play out in the next few hours or days:
If Boris Johnson refuses to resign, could he be ousted by a vote of no confidence from Conservative party lawmakers?
As the party rules are now, no. He survived a confidence vote on June 6, which should mean he won’t be able to get another confidence vote for a year. But lawmakers seeking to get rid of him have raised the possibility of changing the rules.
Even if they don’t go through the formal process of distrusting Johnson, he could be doomed. Former British Prime Minister Theresa May survived a confidence vote against her leadership in December 2018 – by a wider margin than Johnson got in June – and was still out of office the following summer.
Will a Johnson resignation lead to a general election?
No. It starts the process of the conservative party to elect a new leader of the party. British Prime Ministers are not directly elected by the people; Johnson is Prime Minister because he is the head of the largest party in the House of Commons. The Conservatives will still be the biggest party even if Johnson quits or gets dumped, so the new head of the party becomes prime minister.
How is the new Conservative Party leader elected?
Leadership candidates need the support of at least eight lawmakers. If there are more than two candidates, Conservative party lawmakers hold round after ballot to reduce the number of leadership candidates to two. Then conservative party members across the country vote (by mail!) between the two finalists. The winner becomes party leader – and prime minister.
Who is Prime Minister while all this is happening?
Boris Johnson. He will remain in office as interim prime minister until his replacement is elected.
After that, he personally submits his resignation to the Queen. The palace will officially announce that Queen Elizabeth II has accepted Johnson’s resignation and will say who she has invited to become prime minister to replace him. (This is a formality; she will elect the leader of the Conservative Party.)
Should the new prime minister call a general election?
No. The United Kingdom is scheduled to hold general elections again in December 2024. The new prime minister can choose to ask parliament to vote in early elections, but is not obliged to do so.