BASW in Westminster: UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson resigns

On 7 July 2022, Prime Minister Boris Johnson resigned from his post and asked the Conservative Party to start the process to elect a new leader, and consequently a new Prime Minister.

What happened?

Boris Johnson resigned after many of his cabinet members quit their government positions and called for him to step back as Prime Minister. In their letters of resignation, they cited their reasons for resigning which included they did not believe the Government was viewed by the public as “competent or acting in the national interest”.

A key factor in issues coming to a head was the allegations concerning Chris Pincher, an MP who held an important role for the Government as Deputy Chief Whip. Concerns about these allegations and what Boris Johnson knew and when he knew it - and the shifting version of events provided by Boris Johnson’s team further eroded the Prime Ministers' credibility within the Conservative Party.

After a couple of days of uncertainty, Boris Johnson stood on the steps of Downing Street to announce his resignation as Leader of the Conservative Party, and that he would stop being Prime Minister when a new Leader was chosen by the Conservative Party.

How is a new Prime Minister chosen?

The public does not get a say in who the next Prime Minister will be. That choice is entirely down to the Conservative Party.

This is also what happened in 1990 when John Major took over from Margaret Thatcher, in 2007 when Gordon Brown took over from Tony Blair, 2016 when Theresa May took over from David Cameron, and 2018 when Boris Johnson took over from Theresa May. Prime Ministers who come into office without being elected by the public often call a General Election within a couple of years to get their own mandate.

The 1922 Committee (the governing group of the Parliamentary Conservative Party) will draw up the timetable for the process. Conservative MPs will be able to put their name forward, and their colleagues will vote, eventually whittling it down to the final two candidates who will then go through to the final stage – a membership vote.

Upon being elected as Leader, the outgoing Prime Minister Boris Johnson will tender his resignation to the Queen and ask her to invite the new Leader to form a Government. As Boris Johnson leaves Buckingham Palace after resigning, the new Leader will be on their way to meet the Queen and will leave the Palace as the Prime Minister. This will not happen for a few months.

Who will the next Prime Minister be?

There is no shortage of Conservative MPs that want the job. So far, the following names have been suggested: Liz Truss; Penny Mordaunt; Suella Braverman, Tom Tugendhat, Sajid Javid, Rishi Sunak, Ben Wallace.

We will find out over the next few days who is going to launch a proper campaign.

What does this mean for BASW and social work?

Government carries on as normal for the time being - but there are potentially big changes, accompanied by big worries.

A new Prime Minister could mean an entirely new legislative agenda. This year, the Bill of Rights and the Draft Mental Health Bill are both in Parliament. A new Prime Minister could decide they’re not interested in these Bills and drop them. The Independent Review of Children’s Social Care will be considered later this year – but the Ministers who have been working on it may no longer be the same Ministers. What were Boris Johnson’s priorities in children’s social care may not be the priorities of the new Prime Minister.

There may be opportunities with the change of Prime Minister to address some of the policy directions that have concerned us, such as on the cost of living and funding for local authorities. But we must remember that while this is a change of Prime Minister, it is not a change of political party. There is likely to be a pursuit of similar policies that we have seen over the past few years. No matter what the next Prime Minister chooses to do, BASW will continue to work with politicians to promote social work values and make sure our members voices are heard at all levels of Government.