(London) Having come to power triumphantly in the summer of 2019, Boris Johnson spent three years at the head of the British government. Discredited by the scandals, the one who clung to power at all costs ended up resigning from the head of the conservative party, pushed towards the exit by his own camp.
July 2019: triumphant victory
Pro-Brexit champion Boris Johnson was elected leader of the Conservative Party on July 23, 2019 after a landslide victory over Foreign Secretary Jeremy Hunt.
The next day, he was appointed Prime Minister by Queen Elizabeth II, and promised a rapid exit from the European Union.
January 2020: Brexit hero
Ultra-popular, in December 2019 he won a historic majority in the House of Commons for the Conservatives after early legislative elections.
MPs approve his Brexit deal and on January 31, 2020, three and a half years after the referendum, the UK leaves the European Union.
April 2020: pandemic and intensive care
The Prime Minister announced on March 27 that he had tested positive for the coronavirus, after experiencing mild symptoms.
On April 5, he was hospitalized. He was transferred the next day to intensive care and remained there for three days.
April 2021: the first scandals
The Prime Minister has been criticized since the start of the pandemic for his management of the crisis, accused in particular of having been slow to react. In April 2021, he denied having made controversial remarks in which he opposed a third confinement.
Boris Johnson is also struggling with a lobbying affair splashing some members of his government and a controversy over the costly financing of the renovation of his official apartment.
May 2021: reinforced at the polls
The Prime Minister’s party is still gaining ground against Labor in local elections on May 6, 2021, capturing a historic stronghold of Hartlepool in north-east England.
December 2021: “partygate”
At the beginning of December, revelations accumulate on several illegal parties organized at the heart of power during the confinements. The British denounce a “double standard”, the Prime Minister has just announced a tightening of restrictions.
The list of parties grows in the weeks that follow and investigations are opened.
On April 12, Boris Johnson announced that he had been fined by the police for breaking the law – unheard of for a sitting prime minister – by participating in a surprise party for his birthday in June 2020 in Downing Street. His explanations vary, but he assures Parliament that he did not break the rules.
May 2022: electoral setback
The scandal plunged the Prime Minister’s popularity and the British, strangled by inflation, made it known by imposing a defeat on him in the local elections on May 5.
June 2022: vote of no confidence
Boris Johnson survives a vote of no confidence on June 6 from members of his Conservative Party provoked by slingers exasperated by “partygate”. More than 40% of MPs say they no longer have confidence in the Prime Minister, reflecting the extent of the malaise.
July 2022: sex scandals
Added to “partygate” is an embarrassing series of Conservative sex scandals, including an MP suspected of rape arrested and then released on bail in mid-May and a former parliamentarian sentenced in May to 18 months in prison for the sexual assault of ‘a teen.
On July 5, Boris Johnson apologizes and acknowledges an “error” in having appointed Chris Pincher to his government in February, in charge of parliamentary discipline for Conservative MPs, when he had been made aware of sexual accusations. aiming at it.
July 2022: resignation
The same day, tired of the scandals, two high-ranking ministers resign.
On July 7 at midday, nearly 60 members of the government resigned.
Boris Johnson is stepping down as leader of the Conservative Party, paving the way for the appointment of a new Prime Minister in the coming months.
