Rayner says Labor will not table a confidence motion unless Johnson acts quickly
Next up for this morning’s media rounds is Labor Vice-Chairman Angela Rayner.
She tells the BBC that Labor will call a vote of no confidence in the Prime Minister if the Conservative Party doesn’t get rid of him immediately.
When asked if her party will try to hasten his departure from No. 10, she says:
We will if the Conservatives don’t pull themselves together and get rid of Boris Johnson.
He’s a proven liar covered in dirt and we can’t have that for a few more months.
So they have to get rid of him and if they don’t we will call a vote of no confidence because it’s pretty clear – he doesn’t have the confidence of the House or the British public.
Key Events:
In the chaos surrounding Johnson’s resignation, it should not be forgotten that Labor could soon be looking for a new leader.
Sir Keir Starmer has promised to resign if he is fined over an event in Durham during lockdown where he and other party activists ate takeaway food and drank beer while on a campaign trip.
Asked for today Rayner says neither she nor Starmer will appeal if Durham Police find they broke coronavirus rules.
We accept the results.
You know, it’s very clear that both I and Keir believe that we believe in the rule of law.
We believe that as a legislator you cannot be a lawbreaker and that we could not lead the party under these conditions.
We have a Prime Minister who has spent the last few months clinging to power, which has devastated the British public, and we have not addressed the issues that are important to them.
That’s it from me for this morning, my colleague Andrew Sparrow takes over now.
Rayner says Labor will not table a confidence motion unless Johnson acts quickly
Next up for this morning’s media rounds is Labor Vice-Chairman Angela Rayner.
She tells the BBC that Labor will call a vote of no confidence in the Prime Minister if the Conservative Party doesn’t get rid of him immediately.
When asked if her party will try to hasten his departure from No. 10, she says:
We will if the Conservatives don’t pull themselves together and get rid of Boris Johnson.
He’s a proven liar covered in dirt and we can’t have that for a few more months.
So they have to get rid of him and if they don’t we will call a vote of no confidence because it’s pretty clear – he doesn’t have the confidence of the House or the British public.
Now more of the 1922 committees Sir Geoffrey Clifton Brownwho says that in an “ideal world” Deputy Prime Minister Dominic Raab would have been made interim Prime Minister after Johnson’s speech yesterday, “but that ship has sailed”.
I think in an ideal world Dominic Raab should have been acting prime minister as deputy prime minister, but I think that ship has sailed and we now have to live with the fact that Boris Johnson will remain prime minister until a successor can be voted on.
He adds:
[Johnson] has said very clearly that he will not make any major changes during this period. And I think that’s a good thing.
How is a new Tory leader chosen?
Rajeev Syal
It is up to Conservative MPs and then party members to nominate a Tory leader who then becomes Prime Minister as the party has a majority in the House of Commons.
To enter the race, a Tory MP must be nominated by eight peers.
Once all the candidates have declared themselves, Tory MPs will hold a series of votes until only two remain. In the first round, candidates must get 5% of the votes to stay in the running, which is 18 votes.
In the second turn they need to get 10%, which is currently 36 MPs. In subsequent rounds, the candidate with the fewest votes is eliminated until two candidates remain.
If two MPs remain in the running, party members can make their final election before a deadline set by the 1922 committee.
In 2019, when Johnson replaced May, the entire leadership process took about six weeks.
Assuming the new leader could gain the confidence of the Commons, they would not need to call a general election.
Treasurer of Tory MPs’ influential 1922 backbench committee says battle for next prime minister is likely to go to Conservative Party membership.
This would happen if, once Tory MPs’ candidates were reduced to two, one refused to back down.
Speaking to the BBC’s Today programme, Sir Geoffrey Clifton Brown said:
In this case I think there is a lot of competition. And I’d be surprised if it wasn’t about membership in the country.
I actually think under these circumstances with the split in the party, I think it’s a good thing that it’s going to the members so that they have the opportunity to express themselves and vote.
The new Tory leader had to be here “quite quickly”, says Cleverly
Finally, James Cleverly’s appearance on Sky News insists Boris Johnson “resigns” as Prime Minister, although he did not use the word in his resignation speech.
He will resign from his position as prime minister and party leader as soon as a successor is appointed.
He adds:
It is right that he has resigned and it is right that he has set up a team that will continue to govern while the selection process for his successor is ongoing.
And we should do that, I think, fairly quickly, fairly promptly.
In the meantime, Boris Johnson He was “deeply appalled” by the shooting of former Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe.
Deeply shocked and saddened to hear of the heinous attack on Shinzo Abe.
My thoughts are with his family and loved ones.
— Boris Johnson (@BorisJohnson) July 8, 2022
For the latest developments in this story, you can follow our dedicated live blog here.
When asked what he expects from a new Tory leader, Sent says it has to be someone who is “a good governor … a good campaigner.”
Does it have to be a Brexiteer? “Brexit is done,” he replies.
When asked if he would support someone who ‘backstabbed’ Johnson, he doesn’t give a straight answer – but he and many other Tory MPs believe potential leaders can expect more loyalty if they themselves do have shown to others.
James Cleverly rejects leadership offer
When asked if he will be Johnson’s replacement, Cleverly says he won’t.
I signed up last time. I don’t regret that. I really enjoyed it.
As you know, my wife was undergoing cancer treatment. It’s going well, but it’s not finished yet.
It’s not the right time for me and I feel good that we have a number of candidates within the party who would make excellent prime ministers.
He adds that he has yet to decide who to support.
Conservative MP James CleverNewly appointed education secretary following Michelle Donelan’s quick departure from the role, can be seen on Sky News.
He is asked about the news that Boris and Carrie Johnson are going to have a wedding party at Checkers before the Prime Minister leaves office.
Cleverly says it’s his understanding that this event is private and not taxpayer-funded, adding he won’t be invited, although he considers Johnson a “longtime friend”.
How the newspapers reacted to Johnson’s resignation
The chaotic choreography of Boris Johnson’s resignation as Prime Minister provided some contrasting front pages on Friday.
That Guardian has a poster-style front page with an image of an “unrepentant” Johnson during his resignation speech and the headline “It’s (almost) over,” with the words in parentheses reduced to a much smaller font size.
That financial times also highlights the outgoing leader’s “uncompromising” tone in his Splash caption, “Johnson surrenders, defiant to the end.” However, Robert Shrimsley’s front-page column says that although he has lost the confidence of MPs, his historical importance is “undeniable”.
That mirror has an intriguing claim that Johnson wants to stay on as PM to throw a “lavish” party in Checkers, long planned for July 30, to celebrate his marriage to Carrie last year. “Holding on for one last party,” reads the headline.
That Times leaves with “Johnson throws in the towel” and reports that his resignation has sparked a “bloody leadership contest”. Columnist Iain Martin says Johnson’s chaotic rule of Downing Street is leaving his successor with a ‘nightmarish legacy’.
After days of mounting pressure, the Prime Minister announced his resignation yesterday – but he has vowed not to leave office until a successor is elected.
Boris Johnson has defied calls for an immediate exit from both inside and outside his party, appointing new ministers and saying he will continue to govern.
However, he promised his government would not seek to implement new policies or introduce “major changes in direction” including tax decisions in the coming weeks.
Even before Johnson delivered his moody farewell speech, Conservative MPs’ focus had already shifted to who might succeed him – and unlike 2019, when he was the prince across the water for months, this time there is no obvious successor.
Within days the likely shape of the race for Britain’s next Prime Minister will be much clearer; but when the gun goes off, it looks wide open.
We bring you the latest political developments throughout the day – and you can catch up on some of yesterday’s events here: