Boris Johnson resigns: The Conservative PM who turned from Brexit messiah to pariah

Prime Minister Boris Johnson on Thursday announced his decision to step down as the Conservative Party leader, saying he was sad to give up the best job in the world.

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Since the abrupt resignations of Rishi Sunak and Sajid Javid opened the door for other cabinet resignations, Boris Johnson's tenure as UK prime minister ended on Thursday, marking one of the most significant turns of political fortune in British history.

Johnson, a fervent supporter of improved India-UK relations, will undoubtedly be remembered in New Delhi for his close connection with Prime Minister Narendra Modi and for advancing free trade agreement (FTA) discussions to meet a deadline of Diwali 2022.

"As we have seen at Westminster, the herd instinct is powerful, and when the herd moves, it moves. My friends in politics, no one is remotely indispensable and our brilliant Darwinian system will produce another leader, equally committed to taking this country forward through tough times," said Johnson in his resignation speech on the steps of Downing Street, blaming the machinations of his party colleagues for his exit after a new leader is elected.

Ironically, the 58-year-old Conservative Party member who has served as the London district's representative for Uxbridge and South Ruislip since 2015 took office at 10 Downing Street in July 2019 after organising a similar takeover against the incumbent, former Prime Minister Theresa May.

A leadership vote was held within the Tory party after the Brexiteer, who had been Theresa May's Foreign Secretary, resigned in opposition to her Brexit agreement with the European Union (EU). The British electorate reinforced his thumping mandate in that party vote in a snap general election in December 2019, which Johnson won with a whopping majority on the promise to Get Brexit Done. "We are going to energise the country. We are going to get Brexit done," Johnson declared in his characteristic bluster.

As the face of hard Brexit in the Conservative Party, Johnson pledged to get Britain out of the EU with or without a deal. He defied expectations and secured an agreement for Britain's formal exit at the end of January 2020, despite resistance from his party members. The Northern Ireland Protocol, which governs UK territory Northern Ireland because it borders Ireland, an EU member state, is still at the centre of the controversy surrounding that agreement. "I would now urge everyone to find closure and let the healing begin," Johnson said in his victory speech in December 2019 as he vowed to work round the clock to repay the voters' trust in what he branded would be a one-nation people's government.

Johnson used his "extraordinary" mandate to outline his goals for the UK after Brexit. He also acknowledged that the National Health Service (NHS) was the "overwhelming priority" of the British. It appeared prophetic given that he soon had to deal with the COVID-19 global pandemic and that, in March 2020, after testing positive for the coronavirus, he ended up in the intensive care unit (ICU) of a London NHS hospital. 

Johnson appeared to have turned a corner when the nation's COVID immunisation programme was mainly acclaimed as a success story, despite significant criticism over a perceived delay in enacting a complete lockdown to stop the spread of illnesses. However, the former two-term mayor of London has never been immune to scandal or criticism, whether related to his private life and suspected extramarital affairs or his political gaffes.

The alarming disclosures of COVID lockdown law-breaking parties at Downing Street and other government offices at the height of the pandemic, now known as partygate, were the most damaging political scandal he faced while serving as prime minister. 

In addition to being fined by Scotland Yard for a birthday celebration held in the Cabinet Room of Downing Street on June 19, 2020, the controversy over the scope of illegal behaviour under his leadership persisted despite several public apologies. As a result of the pressure, his party's backbenchers ultimately forced a vote of no-confidence, which he narrowly avoided in early June with the support of his Cabinet.

Rishi Sunak, the nation's first finance minister of Indian descent and one of his closest allies, resigned on Tuesday night after presenting a stinging critique of his leadership, putting an end to the proverbial party within weeks. Following his departure, Health Secretary Sajid Javid delivered a scathing address in Parliament, saying he could no longer give Downing Street the "benefit of the doubt" in light of the partygate affair and other scandals, and that he was convinced "the problem starts at the top."

The fatal blow came after days of mixed messages from Downing Street on the now-suspended former Tory Deputy Chief Whip, Chris Pincher, and ministers being briefed to defend Johnson's decision to appoint him despite concerns over allegations of sexual misconduct against him.

As a former journalist and columnist, Johnson would have been somewhat prepared for the level of animosity sent his way in the UK media as the revelation in recent days pointed to his error in appointing Pincher. In the end, it proved to be one political gaffe too many. It prompted his leave from Downing Street, evoking past dramatic departures of his predecessors as Tory prime ministers, Theresa May and David Cameron in more recent times, and Margaret Thatcher historically.

(With inputs from PTI)