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Boris Johnson's term as the prime minister of the United Kingdom began on 24 July 2019 when he accepted an invitation of
Queen Elizabeth II Elizabeth II (Elizabeth Alexandra Mary; 21 April 1926 – 8 September 2022) was Queen of the United Kingdom and other Commonwealth realms from 6 February 1952 until Death and state funeral of Elizabeth II, her death in 2022. She was queen ...
to form a government, following the resignation of his predecessor Theresa May after Parliament's repeated rejections of her Brexit withdrawal agreement. While serving as prime minister, Johnson also served as the first lord of the treasury, minister for the civil service, minister for the union, and leader of the Conservative Party. His premiership ended with his resignation on 6 September 2022. Johnson's premiership was dominated by Brexit, the COVID-19 pandemic, the
2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine On 24 February 2022, in a major escalation of the Russo-Ukrainian War, which began in 2014. The invasion has resulted in tens of thousands of deaths on both sides. It has caused Europe's largest refugee crisis since World War II. An ...
, and the cost of living crisis. His premiership was also characterised by several political controversies and scandals, most notably the Partygate scandal. Johnson was declared leader of the Conservative Party after the results of the 2019 leadership election were announced on 23 July 2019. After being appointed Prime Minister the following day, Johnson created the Minister for the Union position, becoming the first Prime Minister to adopt the title. The extraordinary political turmoil over Brexit, begun during May's premiership, continued into the start of Johnson's premiership. This included a prorogation by Johnson that was overturned by the
Supreme Court A supreme court is the highest court within the hierarchy of courts in most legal jurisdictions. Other descriptions for such courts include court of last resort, apex court, and high (or final) court of appeal. Broadly speaking, the decisions of ...
, the passing of the
Benn Act The European Union (Withdrawal) (No. 2) Act 2019, commonly informally referred to as the Benn Act after the Labour MP Hilary Benn as Chair of the Exiting the European Union Select Committee who introduced it, was an act of the Parliament of the ...
against the government's fierce opposition, the expulsion of 21 MPs from the Conservative Party, the loss of the government's working majority, three failed attempts to
dissolve Parliament The dissolution of a legislative assembly is the mandatory simultaneous resignation of all of its members, in anticipation that a successive legislative assembly will reconvene later with possibly different members. In a democracy, the new assemb ...
and hold a
general election A general election is a political voting election where generally all or most members of a given political body are chosen. These are usually held for a nation, state, or territory's primary legislative body, and are different from by-elections ( ...
, and allegations, particularly by Conservatives, of bias, rule-breaking and bullying by the speaker John Bercow, who was later succeeded by Lindsay Hoyle. A
snap general election A snap election is an election that is called earlier than the one that has been scheduled. Generally, a snap election in a parliamentary system (the dissolution of parliament) is called to capitalize on an unusual electoral opportunity or to ...
was held in December 2019, and Johnson led the Conservative Party to their biggest victory since
1987 File:1987 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: The MS Herald of Free Enterprise capsizes after leaving the Port of Zeebrugge in Belgium, killing 193; Northwest Airlines Flight 255 crashes after takeoff from Detroit Metropolitan Airport, k ...
under Margaret Thatcher. Following the election, Parliament ratified Johnson's Brexit withdrawal agreement, and the UK left the European Union on 31 January 2020, beginning an eleven-month transition period. In March 2020, COVID-19 began to emerge as a serious crisis in the country, with Johnson himself testing positive and being hospitalised with
the disease "The Disease" is the 111th episode of the science fiction television series '' Star Trek: Voyager'', the 17th episode of the fifth season. The episode focuses on a plot with Harry Kim (played by Garrett Wang) as '' USS Voyager'' encounters a un ...
in April 2020. Johnson's government responded to the pandemic by enacting emergency powers and widespread societal measures including several
lockdowns A lockdown is a restriction policy for people, community or a country to stay where they are, usually due to specific risks (such as COVID-19) that could possibly harm the people if they move and interact freely. The term is used for a prison ...
, and approved a vaccination programme that began in December 2020, although reception for Johnson's leadership during the crisis was mixed. As the pandemic continued, the UK and EU negotiated the
EU–UK Trade and Cooperation Agreement The EU–UK Trade and Cooperation Agreement (TCA) is a free trade agreement signed on 30 December 2020, between the European Union (EU), the European Atomic Energy Community (Euratom), and the United Kingdom (UK). It provisionally applied from ...
, which provisionally came into force on 1 January 2021. Johnson was involved in the government's response to the death and funeral of Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh in April 2021, and the evacuation of Britons and eligible Afghans from Afghanistan after the Fall of Kabul in August 2021. He responded to the 2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine by imposing
sanctions on Russia Sanctions, economic or international, that have been imposed on Russia include: * International sanctions during the Russo-Ukrainian War (2014–) ** Countering America's Adversaries Through Sanctions Act, US legislation (2017) ** International ...
as well as providing Ukraine with over £10 billion in military aid as well as billions of pounds in economic and humanitarian aid. Through his support of Ukraine, Johnson befriended Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy and was awarded the Ukrainian Order of Liberty in August 2022. Johnson, already a controversial figure in British politics, had his premiership characterised by a string of political controversies and scandals. Following the Partygate scandal, Johnson's approval ratings declined sharply in 2021 and 2022, after facing several investigations into corruption, whilst the overall stability of his government was impacted by the resignations of several senior staffers. Other notable scandals that occurred during Johnson's premiership included controversies regarding COVID-19 contracts, the
Dominic Cummings scandal The Dominic Cummings scandal, or the Dominic Cummings affair, was a series of events involving the British political strategist Dominic Cummings during the COVID-19 pandemic in the United Kingdom. The events include at least one journey that Cumm ...
, the Downing Street refurbishment controversy, the
Owen Paterson scandal Owen William Paterson (born 24 June 1956) is a British former politician who served as Secretary of State for Northern Ireland from 2010 to 2012 and Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs from 2012 to 2014 under Prime Minist ...
, and the wider parliamentary second jobs controversy, the Keir Starmer slur controversy and the resignation of Johnson's two advisers on ethics and the Ministerial Code. In June 2022, he won a confidence vote in his leadership of the Conservative Party, with 211 Conservative MPs voting in favour and 148 against, but was politically weakened. Within weeks, the government was plunged into a
political crisis Politics (from , ) is the set of activities that are associated with making decisions in groups, or other forms of power relations among individuals, such as the distribution of resources or status. The branch of social science that studies ...
triggered by the
Chris Pincher scandal The Chris Pincher scandal is a political controversy in the United Kingdom related to allegations of sexual misconduct by the former Conservative Party Deputy Chief Whip, Chris Pincher. In early July 2022, allegations of Pincher's misconduct ...
, and led to a record number of resignations from Johnson's government, which began with the resignations of Sajid Javid and
Rishi Sunak Rishi Sunak (; born 12 May 1980) is a British politician who has served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom and Leader of the Conservative Party (UK), Leader of the Conservative Party since October 2022. He previously held two Cabinet of ...
on 5 July. Despite the historic mass resignation of his ministers and calls for him to resign, Johnson stated that he had a "colossal mandate" from the public and initially refused to step down. On 7 July 2022, Johnson resigned as party leader, but remained in office in a caretaker role until his successor, his
Foreign Secretary The secretary of state for foreign, Commonwealth and development affairs, known as the foreign secretary, is a minister of the Crown of the Government of the United Kingdom and head of the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office. Seen as ...
Liz Truss, was formally appointed by the Queen on 6 September 2022.


Conservative leadership bid

Theresa May, after failing to pass her Brexit withdrawal agreement through parliament three times, announced her resignation as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom on 24 May 2019 amidst calls for her to be ousted. Boris Johnson (a key person in the Vote Leave campaign who had served as the Mayor of London) had already confirmed at a business event in Manchester days earlier that he would run for
Conservative Party The Conservative Party is a name used by many political parties around the world. These political parties are generally right-wing though their exact ideologies can range from center-right to far-right. Political parties called The Conservative P ...
leader if May were to resign. Prior to his state visit to the United Kingdom, US President Donald Trump endorsed Johnson for party leader in an interview with '' The Sun'', opining that he thought he "would do a very good job." Johnson won all five rounds of voting by MPs, and entered the final vote by Conservative Party members as the clear favourite to be elected PM. On 23 July, he emerged victorious over his rival Jeremy Hunt with 92,153 votes, 66.4% of the total ballot, while Hunt received 46,656 votes. These results were announced an event in the Queen Elizabeth II Centre in Westminster.


Initial appointments

On the day of his announcement as Prime Minister, Johnson handed the role of
Chief Whip The Chief Whip is a political leader whose task is to enforce the whipping system, which aims to ensure that legislators who are members of a political party attend and vote on legislation as the party leadership prescribes. United Kingdom ...
to "relative unknown" MP Mark Spencer. Andrew Griffith, an executive at the media conglomerate
Sky The sky is an unobstructed view upward from the surface of the Earth. It includes the atmosphere and outer space. It may also be considered a place between the ground and outer space, thus distinct from outer space. In the field of astronomy, ...
, was appointed chief business adviser to Number 10.
Munira Mirza Munira Mirza (born May 1978) is a British political advisor who served as Director of the Number 10 Policy Unit under Prime Minister Boris Johnson from 2019 until she resigned on 3 February 2022, citing Johnson's claim that Labour leader Keir Sta ...
, who was a deputy mayor for Johnson throughout his mayoralty of London, was appointed director of the Number 10 Policy Unit. Dominic Cummings, former chief of the Vote Leave campaign, was appointed in to a role as a senior advisor to Johnson. Johnson's key cabinet appointments were Sajid Javid as
Chancellor of the Exchequer The chancellor of the Exchequer, often abbreviated to chancellor, is a senior minister of the Crown within the Government of the United Kingdom, and head of His Majesty's Treasury. As one of the four Great Offices of State, the Chancellor is ...
, Dominic Raab as
Foreign Secretary The secretary of state for foreign, Commonwealth and development affairs, known as the foreign secretary, is a minister of the Crown of the Government of the United Kingdom and head of the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office. Seen as ...
and First Secretary of State, and
Priti Patel Priti Sushil Patel (born 29 March 1972) is a British politician who served as Home Secretary from 2019 to 2022. A member of the Conservative Party, she was Secretary of State for International Development from 2016 to 2017. Patel has been the Me ...
as Home Secretary.
Michael Gove Michael Andrew Gove (; born Graeme Andrew Logan, 26 August 1967) is a British politician serving as Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities and Minister for Intergovernmental Relations since 2021. He has been Member of Parli ...
became Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster and was replaced as Environment Secretary by Theresa Villiers. Gavin Williamson became Education Secretary, Andrea Leadsom became
Business Secretary The secretary of state for business, energy and industrial strategy, is a secretary of state in the Government of the United Kingdom, with responsibility for the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy. The incumbent is a memb ...
, Liz Truss became
International Trade Secretary The secretary of state for international trade, also referred to as the international trade secretary, is a secretary of state in the Government of the United Kingdom, with overall responsibility for the business of the Department for Internat ...
and
Grant Shapps Grant Shapps (born 14 September 1968) is a British politician who is serving as Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy since October 2022. He previously served as Secretary of State for Transport in the Premiership of Bo ...
became
Transport Secretary The Secretary of State for Transport, also referred to as the transport secretary, is a secretary of state in the Government of the United Kingdom, with overall responsibility for the policies of the Department for Transport. The incumbent i ...
. Steve Barclay, Matt Hancock, Amber Rudd and Alun Cairns retained their previous cabinet roles, whilst Julian Smith, Alister Jack and Nicky Morgan took on new roles. Entering cabinet for the first time were
Ben Wallace Ben Wallace most commonly refers to: *Ben Wallace (basketball) (born 1974), American basketball player *Ben Wallace (politician) (born 1970), British Secretary of State for Defence Ben Wallace may also refer to: * Benjamin Wallace (circus owner) (1 ...
, Robert Jenrick,
James Cleverly James Spencer Cleverly (born 4 September 1969) is a British politician and Army Reserve officer who has served as Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs since 2022. A member of the Conservative Party, he has been ...
,
Rishi Sunak Rishi Sunak (; born 12 May 1980) is a British politician who has served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom and Leader of the Conservative Party (UK), Leader of the Conservative Party since October 2022. He previously held two Cabinet of ...
and Robert Buckland.


First 100 days

On 24 July 2019, Johnson entered
10 Downing Street 10 Downing Street in London, also known colloquially in the United Kingdom as Number 10, is the official residence and executive office of the first lord of the treasury, usually, by convention, the prime minister of the United Kingdom. Along wi ...
for the first time as Prime Minister. He used his first speech to promise that a Brexit deal would be struck within 99 days, and pledged that Britain would leave the European Union (EU) by 31 October 2019, "no ifs or buts". Johnson focused on strengthening
the Union The Union may refer to: Politics * The Union (Germany) or CDU/CSU, the partnership of the German political parties the Christian Democratic Union and the Christian Social Union * The Union (Italy), a former coalition of political parties in Ital ...
within his first few days in office, creating a Minister for the Union position and visiting Scotland, Wales, and Northern Ireland. Showing a commitment to the
North of England Northern England, also known as the North of England, the North Country, or simply the North, is the northern area of England. It broadly corresponds to the former borders of Angle Northumbria, the Anglo-Scandinavian Kingdom of Jorvik, and the ...
, he gave Northern Powerhouse minister Jake Berry a right to attend cabinet. On 27 July, Johnson gave a speech at the Science and Industry Museum in Manchester where he promised to build a high-speed rail route connecting the city to Leeds. Johnson's first overseas trip as Prime Minister was when he travelled to Berlin to meet German Chancellor Angela Merkel on 21 August 2019. He visited France to hold meetings with French President
Emmanuel Macron Emmanuel Macron (; born 21 December 1977) is a French politician who has served as President of France since 2017. ''Ex officio'', he is also one of the two Co-Princes of Andorra. Prior to his presidency, Macron served as Minister of Econ ...
the next day. From 24 to 26 August he attended his first multilateral meeting with world leaders as Prime Minister, when he travelled to
Biarritz Biarritz ( , , , ; Basque also ; oc, Biàrritz ) is a city on the Bay of Biscay, on the Atlantic coast in the Pyrénées-Atlantiques department in the French Basque Country in southwestern France. It is located from the border with Spain. ...
for the
45th G7 summit The 45th G7 summit was held on 24–26 August 2019, in Biarritz, France. In March 2014, the G7 declared that a meaningful discussion was currently not possible with Russia in the context of the G8. Since then, meetings have continued within the ...
.


Prorogation of parliament

On 28 August 2019, Johnson advised
Queen Elizabeth II Elizabeth II (Elizabeth Alexandra Mary; 21 April 1926 – 8 September 2022) was Queen of the United Kingdom and other Commonwealth realms from 6 February 1952 until Death and state funeral of Elizabeth II, her death in 2022. She was queen ...
to prorogue parliament between 12 September 2019 and 14 October 2019, which was given ceremonial approval by the Queen at a
Privy Council A privy council is a body that advises the head of state of a state, typically, but not always, in the context of a monarchic government. The word "privy" means "private" or "secret"; thus, a privy council was originally a committee of the mon ...
meeting. The prorogation spurred requests for a judicial review of the advice given by Johnson as the order itself, under royal prerogative powers, cannot be challenged in court. As of 29 August, three court proceedings had been lodged, and one European legal proceeding had begun: * In the
Court of Session The Court of Session is the supreme civil court of Scotland and constitutes part of the College of Justice; the supreme criminal court of Scotland is the High Court of Justiciary. The Court of Session sits in Parliament House in Edinburgh ...
, Edinburgh, for breach of the
Northern Ireland (Executive Formation etc) Act 2019 The Northern Ireland (Executive Formation etc) Act 2019 (c. 22), colloquially known as the 2019 Northern Ireland Act, is an Act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom that provided for the extension of the period for forming a Northern Ireland ...
and the
European Union (Withdrawal) Act 2018 The European Union (Withdrawal) Act 2018 (also known as the Great Repeal Act) is an Act of Parliament, Act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom that provides both for repeal of the European Communities Act 1972 (UK), European Communities A ...
, by 75 MPs led by
Joanna Cherry Joanna Catherine Cherry (born 18 March 1966) is a Scottish politician and lawyer serving as the Member of Parliament (MP) for Edinburgh South West since 2015. A member of the Scottish National Party (SNP), she was the party's Shadow Home Se ...
; * In the High Court of Justice, Westminster, for an urgent judicial review on the legality of the use of the royal prerogative, by Gina Miller; * In the High Court, Northern Ireland, for breach of the Good Friday Agreement, by
Raymond McCord Raymond Irvine McCordRaymond McCord, ''Justice For Raymond'', Gill & Macmillan, 2008, p. 1 (born 23 December 1953) is a victims rights campaigner from Northern Ireland. McCord became involved in the issue of victims rights after his son, Raymond ...
; * In the European Parliament, for breach of Article 2 of the Treaty on European Union, under the process outlined under
Article 7 of the Treaty on European Union Article 7 of the Treaty on European Union is a procedure in the treaties of the European Union ( EU) to suspend certain rights from a member state. While rights can be suspended, there is no mechanism to expel a state from the union. The procedu ...
. On 24 September 2019 the Supreme Court of the United Kingdom found that Johnson's attempt to prorogue Parliament for five weeks "had the effect of frustrating or preventing the constitutional role of Parliament in holding the government to account", that the matter was justiciable, and therefore that the attempted prorogation was unlawful. It accordingly declared that the prorogation was void ''ab initio''. Parliament returned the following day and the record was made to show that Parliament was not in fact prorogued but rather "adjourned". On 2 October 2019, Johnson announced his plans to prorogue Parliament on 8 October and hold a new
State Opening of Parliament The State Opening of Parliament is a ceremonial event which formally marks the beginning of a session of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. It includes a speech from the throne known as the King's (or Queen's) Speech. The event takes place ...
on 14 October.


Loss of working majority, Conservative MPs and ministerial resignations

On 29 August 2019, Johnson suffered the first ministerial resignation of his premiership, when Lord Young of Cookham resigned as a government whip in the House of Lords. On 3 September 2019, Phillip Lee
crossed the floor Crossed may refer to: * ''Crossed'' (comics), a 2008 comic book series by Garth Ennis * ''Crossed'' (novel), a 2010 young adult novel by Ally Condie * "Crossed" (''The Walking Dead''), an episode of the television series ''The Walking Dead'' S ...
and defected to the Liberal Democrats following disagreement with Johnson's Brexit policy. This left the government with no
working majority A majority government is a government by one or more governing parties that hold an absolute majority of seats in a legislature. This is as opposed to a minority government, where the largest party in a legislature only has a plurality of seats ...
in the House of Commons. Later that day, 21 Conservative MPs – including former Chancellors Kenneth Clarke and Philip Hammond, and Nicholas Soames, a grandson of former Conservative leader
Winston Churchill Sir Winston Leonard Spencer Churchill (30 November 187424 January 1965) was a British statesman, soldier, and writer who served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom twice, from 1940 to 1945 Winston Churchill in the Second World War, dur ...
– had the party whip withdrawn for defying party orders and supporting the
Benn Act The European Union (Withdrawal) (No. 2) Act 2019, commonly informally referred to as the Benn Act after the Labour MP Hilary Benn as Chair of the Exiting the European Union Select Committee who introduced it, was an act of the Parliament of the ...
, an opposition motion requiring the government to act to stop a
no-deal Brexit A no-deal Brexit (also called clean break BrexitBBC. (2019)''Brexit: Jargon-busting guide to the key terms'' (BBC) Retrieved 29 March 2019.) was the potential withdrawal of the UK from the European Union (EU) without a withdrawal ...
if Parliament has not backed a deal by 19 October. Johnson saw his working majority reduced from 1 to minus 43. On 5 September 2019, Johnson's brother
Jo Johnson Joseph Edmund Johnson, Baron Johnson of Marylebone, (born 23 December 1971) is a British politician who was Minister of State for Universities, Science, Research and Innovation from July to September 2019, as well as previously from 2015 to 2 ...
resigned from the government and announced that he would step down as an MP, describing his position as "torn between family and national interest." On 7 September 2019, Amber Rudd resigned as
Secretary of State for Work and Pensions The secretary of state for work and pensions, also referred to as the work and pensions secretary, is a secretary of state in the Government of the United Kingdom, with overall responsibility for the business of the Department for Work and P ...
and from the Conservative Party, describing the withdrawal of the party whip from MPs on 3 September as an "assault on decency and democracy".


Brexit plan publication

On 2 October 2019, the government delivered its Brexit proposals to the EU in a seven-page document, including plans to replace the
Irish backstop The Irish backstop (formally the Northern Ireland Protocol) was a proposed protocol to a draft Brexit withdrawal agreement that never came into force. It was developed by the Second May ministry, May government and the European Commission in De ...
. The proposals would see Northern Ireland stay in the European single market for goods, but leave the customs union, resulting in new customs checks. Jeremy Corbyn, the leader of the Labour Party, said he did not think Johnson's Brexit plan would get EU support, claiming it was worse than the deal negotiated by former Prime Minister Theresa May. He also said the proposal was "very unspecific on how the Good Friday Agreement can be upheld." On 4 October, government papers submitted to the Scottish court indicated that Johnson would ask the EU for an extension to the Article 50 process if a deal was not reached by 19 October. However, later the same day Johnson reiterated his earlier statement that the UK would be leaving the EU on 31 October, regardless of whether or not a deal had been reached.


Revised withdrawal agreement

Following negotiations between the UK and EU, a revised withdrawal agreement was reached on 17 October. A special Saturday sitting of Parliament was held two days later to debate the new agreement. MPs passed an amendment, introduced by Sir Oliver Letwin by 322 votes to 306, withholding Parliament's approval until legislation implementing the deal was passed, and intending to force the government to request a delay from the EU for the exit until 31 January 2020. Later that evening, 10 Downing Street confirmed that Johnson would send a letter to the EU requesting an extension, but would not sign it. EU Council President Donald Tusk subsequently confirmed receipt of the letter, which Johnson had described as "Parliament's letter, not my letter". In addition, Johnson sent a second letter expressing the view that any further delay to Brexit would be a mistake. On 21 October, the government published the withdrawal agreement bill and proposed three days of debate for opposition MPs to scrutinise it. The
Speaker of the House of Commons Speaker of the House of Commons is a political leadership position found in countries that have a House of Commons, where the membership of the body elects a speaker to lead its proceedings. Systems that have such a position include: *Speaker of ...
John Bercow refused a government request to hold a vote on the Brexit deal, citing their previous decision to withdraw it. The government brought the recently revised EU Withdrawal Bill to the House of Commons for debate on the evening of 22 October 2019. MPs voted on the Bill itself, which was passed by 329 votes to 299, and the timetable for debating the Bill, which was defeated by 322 votes to 308. Prior to the votes, Johnson had stated that if his timetable failed to generate the support needed to pass in parliament he would abandon attempts to get the deal approved and would seek a general election. Following the vote, however, Johnson announced that the legislation would be paused while he consulted with other EU leaders. On 30 October, Johnson took part in a one-hour and eleven minute long session of Prime Minister's Questions – the longest on record. He led tributes to parliamentarian John Bercow who stood down the following day after ten years as Speaker of the House of Commons.


2019 general election


Calls for early election

On 3 September 2019, Johnson threatened to call a
general election A general election is a political voting election where generally all or most members of a given political body are chosen. These are usually held for a nation, state, or territory's primary legislative body, and are different from by-elections ( ...
after opposition and rebel Conservative MPs successfully voted against the government to take control of the order of business with a view to preventing a no-deal exit. The bill to block a no-deal exit, which the government opposed, passed the Commons on 4 September 2019, causing Johnson to call for a general election on 15 October. However, this motion was unsuccessful as it failed to command the support of two-thirds of the House as required by the
Fixed-term Parliaments Act The Fixed-term Parliaments Act 2011 (c. 14) (FTPA) was an Act of Parliament, Act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom that for the first time set in legislation a default fixed-term election, fixed election date for a general election to the We ...
(FTPA). On 5 September, Johnson launched a national campaign to recruit 20,000 new police officers. He also pledged to build 40 new hospitals by 2030 and increase schools funding. A second attempt at a motion for an early general election failed on 9 September. After the programme motion for the withdrawal agreement bill failed to pass on 22 October, Johnson once again submitted a motion for an early general election under the FTPA. After the motion failed, the government put forward a short bill to hold another election – a method which needed only a simple majority and not a two thirds majority as required by the FTPA. Opposition MPs submitted an amendment to change the date of the election to 9 December rather than 12 December, but the amendment failed. On 29 October, MPs approved the election for 12 December in a second vote. The date of the election became law when royal assent was given on 31 October.


Campaign

Campaigning for the election began officially on 6 November. Both Corbyn and Johnson started the campaign in early November with poor approval ratings. According to Deltapoll, Johnson's rating stood at minus 5 with Corbyn's rating at minus 48. Johnson participated in a television debate with Jeremy Corbyn hosted by
ITV ITV or iTV may refer to: ITV *Independent Television (ITV), a British television network, consisting of: ** ITV (TV network), a free-to-air national commercial television network covering the United Kingdom, the Isle of Man, and the Channel Islan ...
on 19 November, and one hosted by the BBC on 6 December. He worked with Brett O'Donnell, a US
Republican Party Republican Party is a name used by many political parties around the world, though the term most commonly refers to the United States' Republican Party. Republican Party may also refer to: Africa *Republican Party (Liberia) * Republican Part ...
strategist, in preparation for the debates, whilst his campaign was managed by
Isaac Levido Isaac Levido (born ) is an Australian political strategist who was the head of the British Conservative Party's successful campaign in the 2019 United Kingdom general election. Early life Levido was raised in Port Macquarie, New South Wales ...
, an Australian strategist. The Conservative Party's election manifesto said that the UK would spend 0.7% of its gross national income on overseas aid and more than 2% of its gross national product on defence, exceeding the defence spending target set by NATO. Johnson repeatedly used the slogan "get Brexit done" during the election, a key issue in the campaign. The Brexit Party leader Nigel Farage had suggested the Brexit and Conservative parties could form an electoral pact to maximise the seats taken by Brexit-supporting MPs, something the US President Donald Trump urged the pair to do, but this was rejected by Johnson. Despite this Farage later agreed that his party would only contest non-Conservative seats. During the
floods A flood is an overflow of water ( or rarely other fluids) that submerges land that is usually dry. In the sense of "flowing water", the word may also be applied to the inflow of the tide. Floods are an area of study of the discipline hydrolog ...
which hit parts of England in November, Johnson was criticised for what some saw as his late response to the flooding after he said they were not a national emergency. The Conservatives banned '' Daily Mirror'' reporters from Johnson's
campaign bus A campaign bus (battle bus in the UK) is a bus used as both a vehicle and a center of operations during a political campaign, whether for a specific candidate, a political party, or a political cause. A campaign bus can also transport members of ...
. On 27 November, the Labour Party announced it had obtained leaked government documents; they claimed these showed that, despite claims otherwise, the Conservatives were in trade negotiations with the US over the National Health Service. The Conservatives said Labour were peddling "conspiracy theories". Whilst campaigning in his constituency on 29 November, Johnson returned to Downing Street after news of a
stabbing A stabbing is penetration or rough contact with a sharp or pointed object at close range. ''Stab'' connotes purposeful action, as by an assassin or murderer, but it is also possible to accidentally stab oneself or others. Stabbing differs from ...
on
London Bridge Several bridges named London Bridge have spanned the River Thames between the City of London and Southwark, in central London. The current crossing, which opened to traffic in 1973, is a box girder bridge built from concrete and steel. It r ...
. Five people were stabbed and two died from their injuries; Johnson declared the incident an act of terrorism.


Results, analysis and aftermath

Under Johnson's leadership, the Conservative Party polled their largest share of votes since
1979 Events January * January 1 ** United Nations Secretary-General Kurt Waldheim heralds the start of the ''International Year of the Child''. Many musicians donate to the ''Music for UNICEF Concert'' fund, among them ABBA, who write the song ...
and won their largest number of seats since
1987 File:1987 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: The MS Herald of Free Enterprise capsizes after leaving the Port of Zeebrugge in Belgium, killing 193; Northwest Airlines Flight 255 crashes after takeoff from Detroit Metropolitan Airport, k ...
, resulting in a
landslide victory A landslide victory is an election result in which the victorious candidate or party wins by an overwhelming margin. The term became popular in the 1800s to describe a victory in which the opposition is "buried", similar to the way in which a geol ...
. Their total of 13.9 million votes was the largest number of votes won by any party since
1992 File:1992 Events Collage V1.png, From left, clockwise: 1992 Los Angeles riots, Riots break out across Los Angeles, California after the Police brutality, police beating of Rodney King; El Al Flight 1862 crashes into a residential apartment buildi ...
. Their victory in the final contest of the election – the seat of St Ives, in Cornwall – took their total number of MPs to 365, giving them a majority of 80. On 13 December, Leader of the Labour Party Jeremy Corbyn announced that he would not lead the party into the next general election after a "very disappointing night". This came after Labour's worst general election defeat since
1935 Events January * January 7 – Italian premier Benito Mussolini and French Foreign Minister Pierre Laval conclude Franco-Italian Agreement of 1935, an agreement, in which each power agrees not to oppose the other's colonial claims. * ...
. Former Labour Prime Minister Tony Blair said that Corbyn's Brexit policy "alienated both sides of the debate" and that he personified "a brand of quasi-revolutionary socialism - mixing far-left economic policy with deep hostility to Western foreign policy". Blair also highlighted the handling of antisemitism in the party as a key issue. Following the
2020 Labour Party leadership election Labour Party leadership elections were held in the following countries in 2020: *2020 Labour Party leadership election (Ireland) *2020 Labour Party leadership election (UK) **2020 Labour Party deputy leadership election *2020 Scottish Labour deputy ...
, Keir Starmer was elected as Corbyn's successor in April 2020.


Start of second term

On the morning of 13 December, after the results of the election were announced, Johnson asked the Queen's permission to form a new government, therefore beginning his second term. His administration remained the same as his first, aside from a new Secretary of State for Wales, to replace Alun Cairns, who resigned after claims that he had known about a former aide's role in the 'sabotage' of a rape trial. Nicky Morgan, who had not stood in the election, and Zac Goldsmith, who lost his seat, were made life peers to allow them to remain in the government, which was criticised as cronyism.


2020


COVID-19


Early stages of the pandemic

On 31 January, the first UK COVID-19 cases were confirmed in York. By 1 March, cases of COVID-19 had reached every nation of the UK. On 2 March, the government held a COBRA meeting in order to discuss government plans with a medical director
Paul Cosford Sir Paul Anthony Cosford (20 May 1963 – 5 April 2021) was a British emeritus medical director at Public Health England (PHE), the UK's public health agency, later replaced by the UK Health Security Agency. He had executive roles from 2010 at ...
concluding that widespread transmission of coronavirus was "highly likely" in the UK. Johnson unveiled the Coronavirus Action Plan and declared the outbreak a 'level 4 incident'. On 6 March, he announced £46 million in funding for research into a
COVID-19 vaccine A COVID19 vaccine is a vaccine intended to provide acquired immunity against severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS‑CoV‑2), the virus that causes coronavirus disease 2019 ( COVID19). Prior to the COVID19 pandemic, an e ...
and rapid diagnostic tests. On 11 March, the new Chancellor,
Rishi Sunak Rishi Sunak (; born 12 May 1980) is a British politician who has served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom and Leader of the Conservative Party (UK), Leader of the Conservative Party since October 2022. He previously held two Cabinet of ...
presented the
2020 United Kingdom budget The 2020 United Kingdom budget, officially known as Budget 2020: Delivering on Our Promises to the British People, was a budget delivered by Rishi Sunak, Chancellor of the Exchequer, to the House of Commons on Wednesday 11 March 2020. It was Su ...
which had £30 billion in measures in order to protect the economy from the coronavirus. On 12 March, Johnson said the outbreak represented the "worst public health crisis in a generation" after chairing an emergency COBR meeting. Johnson, and his team of advisers, including
Chief Medical Officer Chief medical officer (CMO) is the title used in many countries for the senior government official designated head of medical services, sometimes at the national level. The post is held by a physician who serves to advise and lead a team of medical ...
Chris Whitty Sir Christopher John MacRae Whitty (born 21 April 1966) is a British epidemiologist serving as Chief Medical Officer for England (CMO) and Chief Medical Adviser to the UK Government since 2019. He has also been Gresham Professor of Physic sinc ...
and Chief Scientific Adviser
Sir Patrick Vallance Sir Patrick John Thompson Vallance (born 17 March 1960) is a British physician, scientist, and clinical pharmacologist who has worked in both academia and industry. He has served as the Chief Scientific Adviser to the Government of the United ...
, held daily press briefings from Downing Street to update the public on developments. The press briefings, which were also chaired by other cabinet ministers, were not a daily occurrence after 23 June, and were instead more sporadic. On 18 March, it was announced that there would be a three-month ban on evictions to protect renters during the crisis. The government advised on measures such as social distancing and advised people in the UK against "non-essential" travel and contact with others, as well as suggesting people should avoid pubs, clubs and theatres, and work from home if possible. Pregnant women, people over the age of 70 and those with certain health conditions were urged to consider the advice "particularly important", and would be asked to self-isolate. Johnson announced that the UK would close the majority of its schools beginning on 20 March. That year's summer exams were cancelled across the UK. On 20 March, during the daily 17:00PM press conference, Johnson requested the closure of pubs, restaurants, gyms, entertainment venues, museums and galleries that evening, though with some regret, saying "We're taking away the ancient, inalienable right of free-born people of the United Kingdom to go to the pub".


= Job retention scheme and furlough

= On 17 March, Sunak announced £330 billion would be made available in loans for businesses affected by the virus. On 20 March, Chancellor Rishi Sunak announced that the government had agreed to pay 80% of employee's wages (up to £2,500 a month) in order to protect jobs and the economy. The estimated cost of the scheme was £14 billion per month.


First lockdown

On 23 March, in a televised broadcast, Johnson announced wide-ranging restrictions on
freedom of movement Freedom of movement, mobility rights, or the right to travel is a human rights concept encompassing the right of individuals to travel from place to place within the territory of a country,Jérémiee Gilbert, ''Nomadic Peoples and Human Rights' ...
in the UK, enforceable in law for a period of up to 2 years. The UK had been amongst the last major European states to progressively encourage social distancing, close schools, ban public events and order a lockdown. On 24 March, Health Secretary Matt Hancock announced that the NHS Nightingale Hospital London, a makeshift hospital would be used with a capacity of up to 4,000 patients. Hancock also asked for retired health staff to return to the NHS. During the pandemic Johnson also reached a divorce settlement with his estranged wife
Marina Wheeler Marina Claire Wheeler (born 18 August 1964) is a British lawyer and writer. As a barrister, she specialises in public law, including human rights, and is a member of the Bar Disciplinary Tribunal. She was appointed Queen's Counsel in 2016. S ...
, before his fiancée
Carrie Symonds Caroline Louise Beavan Johnson (' Symonds; born 17 March 1988) is a British media consultant and the wife of former Prime Minister of the United Kingdom Boris Johnson. She is the daughter of Matthew Symonds, co-founder of ''The Independent.'' ...
gave birth to a son. On 30 April, Johnson said that the country was "past the peak" of the outbreak and spoke about the importance of mask-wearing. He said that to avoid a second peak of infections, it was important to keep the R number below one (the number of cases directly generated by one case). On 10 May he asked those who could not work from home to go to work, avoiding public transport if possible, encouraged the taking of "unlimited amounts" of outdoor exercise, and allowed driving to outdoor destinations within England. The slogan previously used by the government, "Stay at Home", was newly changed to "Stay Alert".


= Hospitalisation of Boris Johnson

= On 27 March, it was announced that Johnson had tested positive for COVID-19. Before he tested positive he said he had shaken hands "with everybody" at a hospital where there were confirmed COVID-19 cases. The
Scientific Advisory Group for Emergencies The Scientific Advisory Group for Emergencies (SAGE) is a British Government body that advises central government in emergencies. It is usually chaired by the United Kingdom's Chief Scientific Adviser, currently Sir Patrick Vallance. Specialis ...
had warned that the government should advise against handshaking due to existing evidence about the importance of
hand hygiene Hand washing (or handwashing), also known as hand hygiene, is the act of cleaning one's hands with soap or handwash and water to remove viruses/bacteria/microorganisms, dirt, grease, or other harmful and unwanted substances stuck to the hands ...
. On 5 April he was taken to
St Thomas' Hospital St Thomas' Hospital is a large NHS teaching hospital in Central London, England. It is one of the institutions that compose the King's Health Partners, an academic health science centre. Administratively part of the Guy's and St Thomas' NHS Foun ...
in London for tests due to him displaying "persistent symptoms". He was moved to the hospital's intensive care unit the next day as his condition had worsened. First Secretary of State, Dominic Raab began deputising for him "where necessary". After receiving "standard oxygen treatment" in hospital, he was moved out of intensive care on 9 April. He left hospital on 12 April after a week of treatment, and was moved to his country residence,
Chequers Chequers ( ), or Chequers Court, is the country house of the Prime Minister of the United Kingdom. A 16th-century manor house in origin, it is located near the village of Ellesborough, halfway between Princes Risborough and Wendover in Bucking ...
, to recuperate. After a fortnight at Chequers, he returned to Downing Street on the evening of 26 April and was said to be chairing a government COVID-19 "war cabinet" meeting.


Continued local restrictions and tier system

Amid fears of a second peak, on 9 September it was announced that from 14 September, in new rules, gatherings of more than six people in England would become illegal, with a number of set out exceptions. Fines beginning at £100, reaching £3,200 as a maximum for repeated offences, would be issued to those failing to comply. Johnson announced more restrictions on 22 September, which the media termed a "second Covid shutdown". During this time England was also under certain additional local restrictions. These restrictions were replaced with a three-tier approach for England on 14 October.


= Dominic Cummings scandal

= In May 2020, reports emerged in the Daily Mirror and The Guardian of Johnson's Chief Advisor Dominic Cummings travelling from London to
County Durham County Durham ( ), officially simply Durham,UK General Acts 1997 c. 23Lieutenancies Act 1997 Schedule 1(3). From legislation.gov.uk, retrieved 6 April 2022. is a ceremonial county in North East England.North East Assembly About North East E ...
with his family during the first national lockdown in March 2020 whilst Cummings was experiencing symptoms of COVID-19. On 12 April, before Cummings returned to London, he also travelled 30 miles (50 kilometers) to Barnard Castle allegedly to test his eyesite after issues with his vision before returning to London the following day. On 23 May, a statement from Downing Street said that Cummings' journey was essential. On 24 May, during a press conference, Boris Johnson said that he believed Cummings had acted "responsibly, legally and with integrity". On 25 May, Cummings held a press conference in the rose garden of 10 Downing Street to defend his decision. 45 Conservative MPs either called for Cummings to resign or be sacked.
Durham Constabulary Durham Constabulary is the territorial police force responsible for policing ceremonial county of County Durham in North East England. The force’s area is bordered by Cumbria Constabulary to the west, Cleveland Police to the south east, North ...
did investigate Cummings' movements and whether they had breached any COVID regulations. However, the Constabulary did not consider any offence to have been committed. The scandal was followed by a decrease in confidence of the public for the Conservative government. A study by the UCL's Covid-19 Social Study found a significant decline in faith of the UK government response to COVID following Cummings's actions and Johnson's refusal to remove him. Cummings, and his ally
Lee Cain Lee Edward Cain (born 1981) is a British public relations professional and former journalist who served as Downing Street Director of Communications under Boris Johnson from July 2019 until the end of 2020. Education Cain attended Ormskirk Gr ...
, would later depart Downing Street in November 2020.


Second lockdown

In a press conference on 31 October, Johnson said that England would enter a four-week national lockdown beginning on 5 November. Non-essential shops and hospitality closed, but schools, colleges and universities remained open. By 16 November, despite not experiencing COVID-19 symptoms, Johnson was self-isolating after coming into contact with an MP who tested positive, leading him on 18 November to become the first Prime Minister to attend Prime Minister's Questions via video link. The lockdown ended from 2 December when a revised three-tier approach for England was put into force.


Vaccination procurement and approval

On 2 December, it was announced that the COVID-19 vaccine developed by Pfizer and BioNTech had been approved by the
Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency The Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA) is an executive agency of the Department of Health and Social Care in the United Kingdom which is responsible for ensuring that medicines and medical devices work and are acceptably ...
. Johnson announced that the UK would receive 800,000 doses of the vaccine the following week for the launch of the UK's vaccination programme. On 30 December, it was announced that the Oxford-AstraZeneca vaccine had been approved and would also be rolled out.


Domestic affairs


Cabinet reshuffle

Johnson conducted a cabinet reshuffle on 13 February when a number of senior ministers were sacked, including Northern Ireland Secretary Julian Smith,
Business Secretary The secretary of state for business, energy and industrial strategy, is a secretary of state in the Government of the United Kingdom, with responsibility for the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy. The incumbent is a memb ...
Andrea Leadsom, Environment Secretary Theresa Villiers and
Attorney General In most common law jurisdictions, the attorney general or attorney-general (sometimes abbreviated AG or Atty.-Gen) is the main legal advisor to the government. The plural is attorneys general. In some jurisdictions, attorneys general also have exec ...
Geoffrey Cox. Others leaving included Nicky Morgan and
James Cleverly James Spencer Cleverly (born 4 September 1969) is a British politician and Army Reserve officer who has served as Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs since 2022. A member of the Conservative Party, he has been ...
. In a surprise move, Sajid Javid resigned as
Chancellor Chancellor ( la, cancellarius) is a title of various official positions in the governments of many nations. The original chancellors were the of Roman courts of justice—ushers, who sat at the or lattice work screens of a basilica or law cou ...
and was succeeded by
Rishi Sunak Rishi Sunak (; born 12 May 1980) is a British politician who has served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom and Leader of the Conservative Party (UK), Leader of the Conservative Party since October 2022. He previously held two Cabinet of ...
. Javid's departure came from a refusal to comply with an order by Johnson to sack his advisory team and replace them with aides from Johnson's office. Steve Barclay, Alok Sharma,
Brandon Lewis Brandon Kenneth Lewis (born 20 June 1971) is a British politician who served as Secretary of State for Justice and Lord Chancellor from September to October 2022. He previously served as Chairman of the Conservative Party from 2018 to 2019 and ...
and Oliver Dowden changed their portfolios whilst Anne-Marie Trevelyan, Suella Braverman, George Eustice and Amanda Milling newly joined the cabinet.


Transport

On 27 February, a court ruling deemed a
third runway The expansion of Heathrow Airport is a series of proposals to add to the runways at Heathrow Airport, London's busiest airport beyond its two long runways which are intensively used to serve four terminals and a large cargo operation. The plans ...
at
Heathrow Airport Heathrow Airport (), called ''London Airport'' until 1966 and now known as London Heathrow , is a major international airport in London, England. It is the largest of the six international airports in the London airport system (the others be ...
"unlawful". Johnson said he was not planning to appeal against the ruling. However, the court said that a third runway could be built in the future if it worked in line with the UK's commitments in the
Paris Agreement The Paris Agreement (french: Accord de Paris), often referred to as the Paris Accords or the Paris Climate Accords, is an international treaty on climate change. Adopted in 2015, the agreement covers climate change mitigation, Climate change a ...
. The
Supreme Court A supreme court is the highest court within the hierarchy of courts in most legal jurisdictions. Other descriptions for such courts include court of last resort, apex court, and high (or final) court of appeal. Broadly speaking, the decisions of ...
lifted the ban on building a third runway a number of months later. Johnson came under pressure to "pay back the trust of
Northern Northern may refer to the following: Geography * North, a point in direction * Northern Europe, the northern part or region of Europe * Northern Highland, a region of Wisconsin, United States * Northern Province, Sri Lanka * Northern Range, a ra ...
voters" after his victory in the 2019 general election. This was a factor in him giving the go-ahead to the High Speed 2 (HS2) project on 11 February 2020. The rail line, capable of speeds above 186 mph, is scheduled to open in phases between 2028 and 2040. It has been criticised for its projected costs and impact on the environment. Additionally, Downing Street said that work was underway "by a range of government officials" to look into the prospects of building a bridge from Scotland to Northern Ireland.


Black Lives Matter

Johnson stated that he was "appalled and sickened" by the murder of George Floyd, which led to protests being held across the UK. He urged people to protest peacefully and said that the protesters who "attack dpublic property or the police" would "face the full force of the law".


Foreign affairs

On 3 January 2020, a US airstrike in Iraq killed the Iranian general Qasem Soleimani. Johnson was not told about the attack by US President Donald Trump prior to it happening. He was criticised for not returning from his holiday in Mustique as tensions between Iran and the West rose. On 16 June 2020, Johnson announced that the
Department for International Development , type = Department , logo = DfID.svg , logo_width = 180px , logo_caption = , picture = File:Admiralty Screen (411824276).jpg , picture_width = 180px , picture_caption = Department for International Development (London office) (far right ...
would merge with the
Foreign and Commonwealth Office The Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office (FCDO) is a Departments of the Government of the United Kingdom, department of the Government of the United Kingdom. Equivalent to other countries' Ministry of Foreign Affairs, ministries of fore ...
, to create a new department named the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office. The move was carried out on 2 September, but was criticised by the Labour Party and by former Prime Ministers
David Cameron David William Donald Cameron (born 9 October 1966) is a British former politician who served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 2010 to 2016 and Leader of the Conservative Party from 2005 to 2016. He previously served as Leader o ...
, Gordon Brown and Tony Blair. During Johnson's premiership the UK has seen an increase in English Channel migrant crossings. In August 2020, it was reported that in 2020 so far almost 4,000 people had crossed the Channel illegally, using at least 300 small boats. On 6 August a record number of migrants arrived, at least 235. It was also observed that while it was originally mostly men arriving, young children and pregnant women were also arriving. By the end of 2020, about 635 boats had crossed the English Channel, carrying 8,438 people.


China

On 28 January, the UK government decided to let Huawei have a limited role in building its new 5G network and supplying new high-speed network equipment to wireless carriers, whilst ignoring the US government's warnings that it would sever intelligence sharing if they did not exclude the company. The UK government stated that they deemed Huawei as a high-risk vendor but decided against banning the company from its 5G network, and said instead that they had decided to "use Huawei in a limited way so we can collectively manage the risk". Several
Conservative Party The Conservative Party is a name used by many political parties around the world. These political parties are generally right-wing though their exact ideologies can range from center-right to far-right. Political parties called The Conservative P ...
members, on their part, warned against using Huawei. Due in part to pressure from the US government, in July 2020 Johnson's government decided not to buy any of Huawei's equipment, and told mobile providers to remove the firm's 5G technology from their networks by 2027. In November 2020, the government announced that the installation of 5G equipment will no longer be permitted from September 2021. During the Hong Kong–Mainland China conflict in July 2020, Johnson's government offered up to three million
Hong Kong citizens Hongkongers (), also known as Hong Kongers, Hong Kongese, Hongkongese, Hong Kong citizens and Hong Kong people, typically refers to Hong Kong residents, residents of the territory of Hong Kong; although may also refer to others who were born a ...
the opportunity to live in the UK with a "route to citizenship" if they held British National (Overseas) passports.


Brexit

Johnson welcomed a decision by political parties in Northern Ireland to restore the
Northern Ireland Assembly sco-ulster, Norlin Airlan Assemblie , legislature = 7th Northern Ireland Assembly, Seventh Assembly , coa_pic = File:NI_Assembly.svg , coa_res = 250px , house_type = Unicameralism, Unicameral , hou ...
on the basis of negotiations between the British and Irish governments. Talks succeeded under Northern Ireland Secretary Julian Smith to create a 6th Northern Ireland Assembly, which resumed meeting on 11 January 2020. It followed a three-year hiatus with a new power sharing agreement between Sinn Féin and the DUP. On 18 January 2020, Johnson revealed plans for the
Brexit Day In the wake of the referendum held in the United Kingdom on 23 June 2016, many new pieces of Brexit-related jargon entered popular use.Al Jazeera. (2018)''Brexit jargon: From backstop to no deal, 17 key terms explained'' (Al Jazeera) Retrieved 2 ...
celebrations in Downing Street, and the commemorative coin which entered circulation on that day. On 20 January, in its first defeat since the general election, Johnson's government lost three votes in the House of Lords over its Brexit legislation. However, two days later, he said the UK had "crossed the Brexit finish line" after parliament passed the EU bill for implementing the withdrawal agreement. On 23 January, the bill was given royal assent and the next day it was signed by European leaders in Brussels and by Johnson in Downing Street. The signing in Downing Street was witnessed by both British and European officials, including the prime minister's Europe advisor
David Frost Sir David Paradine Frost (7 April 1939 – 31 August 2013) was a British television host, journalist, comedian and writer. He rose to prominence during the satire boom in the United Kingdom when he was chosen to host the satirical programme ' ...
. There was a vote on the UK government EU bill in the European Parliament on 29 January where it was ratified by 621 votes to 49. The Department for Exiting the European Union was closed down at 11:01 pm on 31 January, a minute after the United Kingdom officially left the European Union. The Brexit transition period lasted until 31 December 2020, an end date that was included in Theresa May's withdrawal agreement. Under an article of the agreement, the UK-EU Joint Committee could have decided to extend the transition period by "up to two years", but Johnson expressed his wish to have signed a free-trade deal with the EU by the end of December. During this time the UK remained in the EU's Single Market and Customs Union. The UK and EU trade negotiations were affected by the COVID-19 pandemic in that videoconferencing was employed by the two sides. In July 2020 the newly reconstituted Intelligence and Security Committee report on Russia was released. It stated that the British government and intelligence agencies had failed to conduct any proper assessment of attempts by the
Russian government The Government of Russia exercises executive power in the Russian Federation. The members of the government are the prime minister, the deputy prime ministers, and the federal ministers. It has its legal basis in the Constitution of the Russia ...
to interfere with the
2016 EU membership referendum The United Kingdom European Union membership referendum, commonly referred to as the EU referendum or the Brexit referendum, took place on 23 June 2016 in the United Kingdom (UK) and Gibraltar to ask the electorate whether the country shoul ...
. It stated that the government "had not seen or sought evidence of successful interference in UK democratic processes". The committee's
Stewart Hosie Stewart Hosie PC (born 3 January 1963) is a Scottish National Party (SNP) politician serving as Member of Parliament (MP) for Dundee East since 2005. He has served as the SNP Treasury Spokesperson since December 2022. He served as the SNP Sh ...
, an SNP MP, said "The report reveals that no one in government knew if Russia interfered in or sought to influence the referendum because they did not want to know". Yet, the report stated that committee members had said that no firm conclusion could be ascertained on whether the Russian government had or had not successfully interfered in the referendum. On 4 September 2020 former Australian Prime Minister Tony Abbott was appointed by the government as an advisor to the
Board of Trade The Board of Trade is a British government body concerned with commerce and industry, currently within the Department for International Trade. Its full title is The Lords of the Committee of the Privy Council appointed for the consideration of ...
. Opposition MPs called for him to have been rejected over his views on "homosexuality, women and climate change". Seven months after the UK left the EU, the country's first major post-Brexit trade agreement was signed, a deal with Japan, with Liz Truss on the British negotiating side. It was said that "99% of exports to Japan" would be " tariff-free" as a result of the deal. The introduction of the
UK Internal Market Bill The United Kingdom Internal Market Act 2020 is an Act of Parliament, act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom passed in December 2020. It is concerned with trade within the UK, as the UK is no longer subject to EU law. The act seeks to preven ...
to Parliament caused controversy as there were concerns about the impact of parts of the bill on the
rule of law The rule of law is the political philosophy that all citizens and institutions within a country, state, or community are accountable to the same laws, including lawmakers and leaders. The rule of law is defined in the ''Encyclopedia Britannica ...
. The government ultimately withdrew these parts before enactment. On 16 October 2020 Johnson said that the UK "must get ready" for no trade deal with the EU. After last-minute negotiations, it was announced on 24 December that a UK-EU trade deal had been agreed.


2021


COVID-19


Third lockdown in England

On 4 January, Johnson announced that England would enter a third lockdown beginning the following day. Scotland also decided to enforce this lockdown. People were told only to leave their homes for limited reasons. All schools and colleges closed to the majority of pupils. At the time the restrictions were said to last until at least mid-February. Also on 4 January, an 82-year-old man named Brian Pinker became the first person to receive the Oxford–AstraZeneca COVID-19 vaccine. On 5 January, Rishi Sunak announced economic support for businesses during this lockdown with up to £9,000 in grants per property. Some business groups believed the help was a good start but didn't go far enough to prevent the collapse of some businesses. Health Secretary Matt Hancock confirmed the vaccination target of every adult in the UK to receive a dose of the vaccination by Autumn 2021 and all vulnerable groups to receive one by mid-February. In January, the head of the
COVID Recovery Group The COVID Recovery Group (CRG) is an informal group of Conservative MPs in the United Kingdom who opposed the UK government's decision to introduce a second period of lockdown measures for England during the COVID-19 pandemic, and who voted agai ...
, Steve Baker MP, warned Boris Johnson that he may face a leadership challenge if COVID restrictions weren't lifted citing concerns surrounding civil liberties. Boris Johnson confirmed that all travel corridors into the UK would be closed starting on 18 January due to worries of potential new strains whilst confirming that all visitors would have to demonstrate proof of a negative COVID test before arriving. In the March 2021 United Kingdom budget, Chancellor of the Exchequer Rishi Sunak announced that the furlough scheme would be extended until September 2021. By this period, the scheme had supported over 11 million jobs since its introduction in March 2020. Sunak also announced an extension of the Universal Credit £20 uplift, to be continued for an additional six months amongst other measures.


Start of reopening

On 22 February, Boris Johnson announced a four step plan for ending all COVID restrictions by 21 June. On 25 February, the COVID alert level was lowered from level 5 to 4. By 28 February, the milestone of 20 million first vaccinations being administered had been achieved. On 8 March, schools in England reopened, with secondary schools requiring masks in lessons. Johnson received his first dose of the AstraZeneca vaccine on 19 March and encouraged others to do the same, saying: "Everybody, when you do get your notification to go for a jab, please go and get it." On 29 March, outdoor met-ups and outdoor sports facilities would be re-opened. On 7 April the
Moderna vaccine The Moderna COVID19 vaccine (INN: elasomeran), sold under the brand name Spikevax, is a COVID-19 vaccine developed by American company Moderna, the United States National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID), and the Biomedi ...
began being rolled out. On 12 April, pub gardens and shops were reopened. By 12 April, all high risk individuals and over-50s had been offered at least the first COVID vaccine. By 24 April, over half the population had received at least one vaccine. On 5 May, the Government announced a £29.3 million increase in funding to help with vaccine development against future potential variants. On 10 May, the COVID alert level was lowered from 4 to 3 on the same day that zero COVID deaths were reported in England, Scotland and Northern Ireland. On 12 May, Johnson said an independent public inquiry into the handling of the pandemic would be held in spring 2022. During a select committee hearing, Dominic Cummings claimed that thousands of people died due to COVID mistakes and that Boris Johnson was "unfit for the job". Equally, he accused Johnson of ignoring scientific advice and wrongly delaying lockdowns. Furthermore, Cummings accused Health Secretary Matt Hancock of "criminal, disgraceful behaviour that caused serious harm" and that he should have been fired for 15 to 20 different things. On 19 July, a date dubbed "Freedom Day" by the media, the majority of COVID-19 restrictions were lifted in England.


"Let the bodies pile high in their thousands"

In April 2021, Johnson denied allegations made by the ''
Daily Mail The ''Daily Mail'' is a British daily middle-market tabloid newspaper and news websitePeter Wilb"Paul Dacre of the Daily Mail: The man who hates liberal Britain", ''New Statesman'', 19 December 2013 (online version: 2 January 2014) publish ...
'' that he had said he would rather have seen "bodies pile high in their thousands" than approve a third lockdown. The full remark was reported to have been "No more fucking lockdownslet the bodies pile high in their thousands". He is alleged to have said it on 30 October 2020, one day before the announcement of the second national lockdown. Sources told the BBC and Robert Peston of
ITV News ITV News is the branding of news programmes on the British television network ITV. ITV has a long tradition of television news. Independent Television News (ITN) was founded to provide news bulletins for the network in 1955, and has since conti ...
that the remark was made. According to Peston, the remarks were heard by a number of people. Both ''The Guardian'' and the BBC reported that the remark had been heard shouted from an office in Downing Street following a main meeting. Peston stated that two witnesses were prepared to swear under oath that the remarks were made. Former chief adviser Dominic Cummings said in a May select committee that he heard the remarks being made. Johnson denied having made the remark, describing it as "total, total rubbish". Cabinet ministers
Michael Gove Michael Andrew Gove (; born Graeme Andrew Logan, 26 August 1967) is a British politician serving as Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities and Minister for Intergovernmental Relations since 2021. He has been Member of Parli ...
and
Ben Wallace Ben Wallace most commonly refers to: *Ben Wallace (basketball) (born 1974), American basketball player *Ben Wallace (politician) (born 1970), British Secretary of State for Defence Ben Wallace may also refer to: * Benjamin Wallace (circus owner) (1 ...
also stated that the reports of the remarks were untrue. The reported remark was condemned by other British politicians and relatives of victims of the COVID-19 pandemic.


Omicron variant

In December 2021, more stringent restrictions for England were put forward by Johnson and the government. The restrictions, called "Plan B", were a partial renewal of previous measures due to the increased incidence of the SARS-CoV-2 Omicron variant. These proposals included face coverings to be required in more public settings, guidance to use
remote work Remote work, also called work from home (WFH), work from anywhere, telework, remote job, mobile work, and distance work is an employment arrangement in which employees do not commute to a central place of work, such as an office building, ware ...
wherever possible, and requirements of COVID passports to enter a nightclub or other large venues. However, 40 Conservative MPs later voted against mandatory face coverings in the House of Commons and 100 voted against compulsory COVID passes – the largest parliamentary rebellion of Johnson's premiership. Eight Labour MPs, ten Liberal Democrat MPs and six Democratic Unionist MPs also voted against the proposals, as well as Green Party MP
Caroline Lucas Caroline Patricia Lucas (born 9 December 1960) is a British politician who has twice led the Green Party of England and Wales and has been the Member of Parliament (MP) for Brighton Pavilion since the 2010 general election. She was re-elected ...
and independent MPs Rob Roberts and Jeremy Corbyn.


Domestic affairs


Downing Street refurbishment controversy

In April 2021, Cummings made allegations that Johnson had arranged for donors to "secretly pay" for renovations on the private residence at 11 Downing Street. Cummings wrote on his blog that the plans were "unethical, foolish, possibly illegal" and "almost certainly broke the rules on proper disclosure of political donations if conducted in the way he intended." On 27 April Johnson asked the Cabinet Secretary,
Simon Case Simon Case (born 27 December 1978) is a British civil servant who is the current Cabinet Secretary and Head of the Home Civil Service since 9 September 2020, succeeding Sir Mark Sedwill. Case was Downing Street Permanent Secretary to Prime M ...
, to hold a review about the refurbishment. On 28 April, the Electoral Commission announced it had opened a formal investigation into the allegations. On the same day Johnson insisted that he had not broken any laws over the refurbishment and had met the requirements he was obliged to meet in full. During Prime Minister's Questions, the leader of the opposition, Keir Starmer, asked: "Who ''initially'' paid for the redecoration of his Downing Street flat?"; Johnson responded: "I paid for Downing Street's refurbishment personally, Mr. Speaker." On 28 May
Lord Geidt Christopher Edward Wollaston MacKenzie Geidt, Baron Geidt, (born 17 August 1961) is a member of the House of Lords and Chairman of the Council of King's College London. He was Private Secretary to Queen Elizabeth II from 2007 to 2017. Between ...
published a report on the allegations in an annex to the register of interests. The report concluded that Johnson did not breach the Ministerial Code and that no conflict, or reasonably perceived conflict, of interest arose. However, Lord Geidt expressed that it was "unwise" for Johnson to have proceeded with refurbishments without "more rigorous regard for how this would be funded". Angela Rayner, Deputy Leader of the Labour Party, wrote to Lord Geidt asking for evidence of the lack of conflict of interest and said that it was "frankly scarcely believable" that Johnson did not know who was funding the refurbishments. The Electoral Commission reported on 9 December that it found that the Conservative Party had failed to follow the law in not accurately reporting donations to the party from Lord Brownlow and imposed a £17,800 fine. '' The Herald'' say the commission's report outlines how in March all the money paid by Brownlow and his company had been reimbursed as had payments made by the Conservative Party and Cabinet Office. Downing Street had said at the time that the full cost of the works had been met personally by the prime minister. Following the publication of the report, ''The Guardian'' reported that Johnson had been accused of misleading Lord Geidt during his investigation due to apparent inconsistencies between the reports. Johnson had told Geidt that he did not know who had paid for the refurbishments until the story was reported in the media in February 2021, whereas the Electoral Commission found that he had messaged Lord Brownlow asking for extra funds in November 2020. Downing Street denied that there was any inconsistency stating that Johnson only contacted Brownlow in his role as the head of a blind trust collecting donations, but was not aware that Brownlow was also the source of the donations.


Local elections and Hartlepool by-election

On 6 May 2021, local and mayoral elections were held across the UK, as well as
Senedd The Senedd (; ), officially known as the Welsh Parliament in English and () in Welsh, is the devolved, unicameral legislature of Wales. A democratically elected body, it makes laws for Wales, agrees certain taxes and scrutinises the Welsh Gove ...
and
Scottish Parliament The Scottish Parliament ( gd, Pàrlamaid na h-Alba ; sco, Scots Pairlament) is the devolved, unicameral legislature of Scotland. Located in the Holyrood area of the capital city, Edinburgh, it is frequently referred to by the metonym Holyro ...
elections, and a by-election in Hartlepool. Johnson's Conservatives substantially improved their vote shares in most of the country, and won Hartlepool for the first time in the constituency's history. These elections were widely seen as a boost to the future of Johnson and his party, and further secured his position.


Cabinet reshuffle

Johnson conducted a cabinet reshuffle on 15 September 2021, which saw Dominic Raab become Justice Secretary and Deputy Prime Minister and be replaced as
Foreign Secretary The secretary of state for foreign, Commonwealth and development affairs, known as the foreign secretary, is a minister of the Crown of the Government of the United Kingdom and head of the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office. Seen as ...
by
International Trade Secretary The secretary of state for international trade, also referred to as the international trade secretary, is a secretary of state in the Government of the United Kingdom, with overall responsibility for the business of the Department for Internat ...
Liz Truss. Also changing their portfolios were
Michael Gove Michael Andrew Gove (; born Graeme Andrew Logan, 26 August 1967) is a British politician serving as Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities and Minister for Intergovernmental Relations since 2021. He has been Member of Parli ...
, Steve Barclay and Oliver Dowden. Nadhim Zahawi, Anne-Marie Trevelyan and Nadine Dorries newly joined the cabinet, while Gavin Williamson, Robert Buckland, Robert Jenrick and Amanda Milling left the cabinet.


Energy crisis

In September 2021, a fuel supply crisis occurred in the UK, caused by panic buying triggered by media reports of a leaked government briefing discussing the shortage of heavy goods vehicle (HGV) drivers. This coincided with a rise in energy prices that Johnson said was a "short-term" problem caused by "the global economy coming back to life" after the COVID-19 pandemic. Economists of various political views, and the head of energy regulator Ofgem strongly disagreed. The UK government has turned to Qatar to seek a long-term natural gas deal to ensure a stable supply of liquefied natural gas (LNG) to the UK.


Owen Paterson affair

In November 2021, Johnson backed a motion to block the suspension of
Owen Paterson Owen William Paterson (born 24 June 1956) is a British former politician who served as Secretary of State for Northern Ireland from 2010 to 2012 and Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs from 2012 to 2014 under Prime Minist ...
, a Conservative MP found to have abused his position by the independent standards commissioner after undertaking paid lobbying on behalf of two companies. The motion called for the creation of a new Conservative-majority committee to examine reforms of the standards investigation process. Many Conservative MPs refused to support the motion, and 13 defied a three-line whip to vote against it. Following the announcement by opposition parties that they would boycott the new committee, and faced with a backlash in the media and from MPs of all parties, the government reversed its position and announced that a new vote would take place on whether Paterson should be suspended. Paterson announced his resignation as an MP the same day. At a meeting of the
1922 Committee The 1922 Committee, formally known as the Conservative Private Members' Committee, is the parliamentary group of the Conservative Party in the House of Commons of the United Kingdom. The committee, consisting of all Conservative backbench member ...
, Johnson said that he made a mistake over his handling of the affair.


=North Shropshire by-election

= After Paterson resigned, a by-election was held in Paterson's former constituency of North Shropshire. The Liberal Democrat candidate,
Helen Morgan Helen Morgan may refer to: *Helen Morgan (singer) Helen Morgan (née Riggins; August 2, 1900 – October 9, 1941) was an American singer and actress who worked in films and on the stage. A quintessential torch singer, she made a big splash in ...
, overturned a Conservative majority of nearly 23,000 to win the seat. The 34% swing was seventh largest in United Kingdom by-election history. Veteran Conservative backbencher Sir Roger Gale described the result "as a referendum on the prime minister's performance".


Events

Following the
death of Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh Death is the irreversible cessation of all biological functions that sustain an organism. For organisms with a brain, death can also be defined as the irreversible cessation of functioning of the whole brain, including brainstem, and brain ...
on 9 April 2021, the government ordered that its communications and some aspects of ministerial activity would pause for a number of mourning days. Johnson married Carrie Symonds on 29 May in a secret ceremony at Westminster Cathedral.


Domestic policy

The 2021 Queen's Speech announced that the government will "level up opportunities across all parts of the United Kingdom, supporting jobs, businesses and economic growth and addressing the impact of the pandemic on public services", implementing an election manifesto pledge. Laws proposed in the Queen's Speech included a
Higher Education (Freedom of Speech) Bill The Higher Education (Freedom of Speech) Bill is a proposed Act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom that would impose requirements for universities and students' unions to protect freedom of speech. The legislation would allow speakers to s ...
to combat
deplatforming Deplatforming, also known as no-platforming, has been defined as an "attempt to boycott a group or individual through removing the platforms (such as speaking venues or websites) used to share information or ideas," or "the action or practice o ...
at universities, an Online Safety Bill to impose a statutory duty of care on online companies and empower
Ofcom The Office of Communications, commonly known as Ofcom, is the government-approved regulatory and competition authority for the broadcasting, telecommunications and postal industries of the United Kingdom. Ofcom has wide-ranging powers acros ...
to block particular websites, and an Animal Welfare (Sentience) Bill to legally recognise
animal sentience Animal consciousness, or animal awareness, is the quality or state of self-awareness within a non-human animal, or of being aware of an external object or something within itself. In humans, consciousness has been defined as: sentience, awaren ...
.


Social care

On 7 September Johnson announced plans for social care reforms, including a 1.25% rise in National Insurance to raise £36 billion over three years, and a cap of £86,000 on lifetime care costs in England. The following day MPs voted in favour of an NHS and social care tax rise by 319 votes to 248, a majority of 71.


Levelling up

The Ministry for Housing, Communities and Local Government was renamed the Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities under Gove, its Secretary of State. Former Bank of England Chief Economist
Andy Haldane Andrew G. Haldane, (; born 18 August 1967) is a British economist who worked at the Bank of England between 1989 and 2021 as the chief economist and executive director of monetary analysis and statistics. He resigned from the Bank of England i ...
was appointed as the head of the Levelling Up Taskforce.


Foreign affairs


Brexit

The
EU–UK Trade and Cooperation Agreement The EU–UK Trade and Cooperation Agreement (TCA) is a free trade agreement signed on 30 December 2020, between the European Union (EU), the European Atomic Energy Community (Euratom), and the United Kingdom (UK). It provisionally applied from ...
, the UK-EU trade deal provisionally came into force on 1 January 2021.


G7 summit

Johnson chaired the 47th G7 summit, which was held from 11 to 13 June 2021 in Cornwall, England. He invited leaders from India, South Korea, South Africa and Australia.
Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a Sovereign state, sovereign country comprising the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous List of islands of Australia, sma ...
welcomed the official invitation. Moon Jae-in, President of South Korea, accepted the invitation and extended an invitation to Johnson to attend the Partnering for Green Growth and the Global Goals 2030 (P4G Summit) in May 2021, which Johnson accepted. Narendra Modi,
Prime Minister of India The prime minister of India (IAST: ) is the head of government of the Republic of India. Executive authority is vested in the prime minister and their chosen Council of Ministers, despite the president of India being the nominal head of the ...
, also accepted the invitation. It was suggested that Johnson is attempting to expand the G7 group, a meeting forum for the world's leading economies, to create the D10, a forum for the world's ten leading democracies. The 2021 summit was the first summit attended by Italian Prime Minister Mario Draghi and US President Joe Biden, and was the last summit attended by German Chancellor Angela Merkel. It was also the first and only summit for Japanese Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga.


Migrant crossings

On 19 July, 430 people crossed the English Channel, making it the largest crossing on record. 1,850 people crossed in July alone, which was more than the total for the whole of 2019.


Withdrawal from Afghanistan

On 17 August, following the UK's removal of troops from Afghanistan and the fall of Kabul to the Taliban, Johnson announced a new scheme to resettle 20,000 Afghans in Britain. Parliament was recalled on 18 August and MPs gathered in the House of Commons chamber, with those previously haven spoken via video link unable to do so.


AUKUS

On 15 September, Johnson, Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison and US President Joe Biden announced AUKUS, a security pact between the United Kingdom,
Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a Sovereign state, sovereign country comprising the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous List of islands of Australia, sma ...
and the United States seen as an initiative to counter the perceived dominance of China in the Pacific. According to the pact, the US and UK would help Australia to acquire
nuclear powered submarines A nuclear submarine is a submarine powered by a nuclear reactor, but not necessarily nuclear-armed. Nuclear submarines have considerable performance advantages over "conventional" (typically diesel-electric) submarines. Nuclear propulsion, ...
. The agreement also includes cooperation on advanced
cyber Cyber may refer to: Computing and the Internet * ''Cyber-'', from cybernetics, a transdisciplinary approach for exploring regulatory and purposive systems Crime and security * Cyber crime, crime that involves computers and networks ** Conventi ...
, artificial intelligence and autonomy, quantum technologies, undersea capabilities,
hypersonic In aerodynamics, a hypersonic speed is one that exceeds 5 times the speed of sound, often stated as starting at speeds of Mach 5 and above. The precise Mach number at which a craft can be said to be flying at hypersonic speed varies, since in ...
and counter-hypersonic, electronic warfare, innovation and information sharing. French and Chinese officials criticised the agreement. Prime Minister Boris Johnson said that the deal would create "hundreds of high-skilled jobs" and "preserve security and stability around the world" but said that the relationship with France was "rock solid". Johnson responded to French anger on 21 September by saying "I just think it's time for some of our dearest friends around the world to prenez un grip about this and donnez-moi un break"; the latter being broken French for "get a grip and give me a break". He made further reference to the deal in his speech at the Conservative Party Conference the following month, touting it as "a supreme example of global Britain in action, of something daring and brilliant that would simply would not have happened if we'd remained in the EU", whilst acknowledging "a certain raucous squawkus from the anti-AUKUS caucus."


COP26

The 26th United Nations Climate Change conference was hosted in the United Kingdom in Glasgow between 31 October and 13 November 2021, with the Cabinet Secretary Alok Sharma as the President of the conference. On 13 November 2021, the
Glasgow Climate Pact The Glasgow Climate Pact is an agreement reached at the 2021 United Nations Climate Change Conference (COP26). The pact is the first climate agreement explicitly planning to reduce unabated coal usage. A pledge to "phase out" coal was change ...
was signed which pledged to 'phase down' the use of coal. It also agreed to pledge further cuts in CO2 emissions in 2022 to keep temperature rises within 1.5 °C. Furthermore, it was agreed to increase climate financing for developing countries.


2022


Domestic affairs


Cost of living crisis

The UK cost of living crisis is a period starting in late 2021 which intensified in mid-2022 in which prices for many essential goods in the United Kingdom began increasing faster than household income, resulting in a fall in
real income Real income is the income of individuals or nations after adjusting for inflation. It is calculated by dividing nominal income by the price level. Real variables such as real income and real GDP are variables that are measured in physical units, ...
. This is caused in part by a rise in inflation in the UK. While all in the UK are affected by rising prices, it most substantially affects low-income persons. Both global and local factors have contributed to the UK's cost of living crisis. According to
Bank of England The Bank of England is the central bank of the United Kingdom and the model on which most modern central banks have been based. Established in 1694 to act as the English Government's banker, and still one of the bankers for the Government of ...
governor Andrew Bailey, about 80% of the causes driving the cost of living crisis are global. These include the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, an ongoing chip shortage, an energy crisis in 2021–2022, a supply chain crisis in 2021–2022 and
Russia's invasion of Ukraine in 2022 On 24 February 2022, in a major escalation of the Russo-Ukrainian War, which began in 2014. The invasion has resulted in tens of thousands of deaths on both sides. It has caused Europe's largest refugee crisis since World War II. An ...
. The UK was reported to be among the worst affected among the world's advanced economies. Causes unique to the UK include labour shortages related to foreign workers leaving due to Brexit, and additional taxes on households. Factors that have worsened the crisis since 1 April 2022 include Ofgem increasing the household energy price cap by 54%, an increase in National Insurance, and a rise in Council Tax. Household income, whether from wages or benefits, has not generally kept pace with rising prices. In April 2022, UK
real wages Real wages are wages adjusted for inflation, or, equivalently, wages in terms of the amount of goods and services that can be bought. This term is used in contrast to nominal wages or unadjusted wages. Because it has been adjusted to account f ...
fell by 4.5%, the sharpest fall since records began back in 2001. Based on an Office for National Statistics (ONS) survey between May and June 2022, it found that 52% of respondents had cut back on their energy use. According to a survey from the ''Food Foundation'' think tank published in February 2022, one million UK adults went a whole day without eating over the past month. In March 2022, at the start of the crisis, it was estimated that 6.7 million people were already using food banks in the UK. A further 9.9m across England, Wales and Northern Ireland - more than one in five people who responded to a survey - said they'd skipped a meal or cut down on portion sizes. The chief executive of the
Trussell Trust The Trussell Trust is an Non-governmental organization, NGO and charity that works to end the need for food banks in the United Kingdom. It supports a network of over 1,200 food bank centres to provide emergency food and compassionate, practical su ...
(an NGO and charity that works to end the need for food banks), Emma Revie, says the expansion is partly down to the fall in benefits, once inflation is taken into account. In response to the crisis, the Government announced several measures to help solve the crisis. A £400 energy grant was announced for all households. There was then a more targeted payment response for the more vulnerable in society in the form of a £650 payment to the 8 million lowest income households in the country, £300 for 8 million pensioner households and £150 for 6 million in non-means tested disability benefits. To help fund these energy support payments, Chancellor
Rishi Sunak Rishi Sunak (; born 12 May 1980) is a British politician who has served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom and Leader of the Conservative Party (UK), Leader of the Conservative Party since October 2022. He previously held two Cabinet of ...
announced a windfall tax, to tax extraordinary profits of energy companies which aimed to raise about £5bn of revenue.


=Inflation rise

= Inflation started to rise at the end of 2021, affecting the cost of food, transport, electricity and other daily items. By June 2022, inflation in the UK reached 9.4%, the highest inflation rate since 1982. In August 2022, the
Bank of England The Bank of England is the central bank of the United Kingdom and the model on which most modern central banks have been based. Established in 1694 to act as the English Government's banker, and still one of the bankers for the Government of ...
estimated that inflation could reach 13% by the end of 2022. In response, the Bank's Monetary Policy Committee voted 8–1 in favour of raising interest rates by 0.5 percentage points to 1.75 per cent on 4 August 2022, the biggest increase in 27 years. There is no complete consensus amongst economists on the cause of the inflationary surge, however, most attribute it to product shortages resulting from global supply-chain problems, largely caused by the COVID-19 pandemic. Another factor regarding the rise in inflation was the 2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine. Before the invasion, Ukraine accounted for 11.5% of the world's wheat crop market, and contributed 17% of the world's
corn Maize ( ; ''Zea mays'' subsp. ''mays'', from es, maíz after tnq, mahiz), also known as corn (North American and Australian English), is a cereal grain first domesticated by indigenous peoples in southern Mexico about 10,000 years ago. Th ...
crop export market, and the invasion caused wheat and corn from Ukraine unable to reach international market, causing shortage, and result in dramatic rise in prices, that exacerbated to
food Food is any substance consumed by an organism for nutritional support. Food is usually of plant, animal, or fungal origin, and contains essential nutrients, such as carbohydrates, fats, proteins, vitamins, or minerals. The substance is inge ...
stuffs and biodiesel prices.


=Tax rises

= The UK tax take is set to rise from 33.5% of GDP before the pandemic to 36.2% by the mid-2020s. That will be the highest share of national income taken by the state since the early 1950s. Corporation tax is also rising from 19% to 25%, income tax thresholds are being frozen in cash terms – dragging more workers into higher bands. On 7 September 2021, the Government had announced an increase of National Insurance (NI) rates by 1.25 percentage points (from 12% to 13.25%) for the 2022–23 tax year, breaking its 2019 manifesto promise. From 2023, a new health and social care levy charged at the same 1.25% rate would be introduced with NI rates reverting to their previous levels.


June 2022 by-elections and local elections

Following heavy Conservative defeats in the 23 June by-elections in Wakefield and Tiverton and Honiton, by the Labour Party and the Liberal Democrats respectively, Oliver Dowden, the
Co-Chairman of the Conservative Party The chairman of the Conservative Party in the United Kingdom is responsible for party administration and overseeing the Conservative Campaign Headquarters, formerly Conservative Central Office. When the Conservative Party (UK), Conservatives are ...
, resigned, saying: "We cannot carry on with business as usual" and "Somebody must take responsibility". Former party leader
Michael Howard Michael Howard, Baron Howard of Lympne (born Michael Hecht; 7 July 1941) is a British politician who served as Leader of the Conservative Party and Leader of the Opposition from November 2003 to December 2005. He previously held cabinet posi ...
called for Johnson to resign, saying: "
r Johnson's R, or r, is the eighteenth letter of the Latin alphabet, used in the modern English alphabet, the alphabets of other western European languages and others worldwide. Its name in English is ''ar'' (pronounced ), plural ''ars'', or in Irelan ...
biggest asset has always been his ability to win votes but I'm afraid yesterday's results make it clear that he no longer has that ability. ... The best person in the Conservative Party to judge the mood, both of the party and of the electorate, is its chairman... I think the party, and even more importantly the country, would now be better off under new leadership." Johnson announced that had no intention of changing or resigning; senior Conservatives accused him of increasingly "delusional" behaviour. On 26 June 2022 Johnson said: "At the moment I'm thinking actively about the third term and what could happen then, but I will review that when I get to it."


Domestic policy


Repeal of the Fixed-term Parliaments Act

In December 2020, the government published a draft Fixed-term Parliaments Act 2011 (Repeal) Bill, later retitled the Dissolution and Calling of Parliament Bill when it was laid before Parliament in May 2021, which would ultimately repeal the 2011 Fixed-term Parliaments Act, revive the prerogative powers of the monarch to dissolve Parliament (at the request of the prime minister), and ensure that a Parliament is automatically dissolved five years after it first met (17 December 2024) and polling day being 25 working days later (24 January 2025). The Dissolution and Calling of Parliament Bill was granted Royal Assent on 24 March 2022, meaning that the prime minister will again be able to request the monarch to dissolve Parliament and call an early election, with 25 working days' notice.


Elections Act

The Elections Act 2022 was introduced to the House of Commons in July 2021, and received Royal Assent in April 2022. The requirement would apply to UK general elections, English local elections, and police and crime commissioner elections in England and Wales. This was the first time that voter
photo identification Photo identification or photo ID is an identity document that includes a photograph of the holder, usually only their face. The most commonly accepted forms of photo ID are those issued by government authorities, such as driver's licenses, ident ...
for in-person voting in the United Kingdom was implemented. The act was criticised for permitting as acceptable voter identification "an Older Person’s Bus Pass, an Oyster 60+ Card, a Freedom Pass", while not allowing 18+ student Oyster cards, national railcards, or student ID cards. Critics have said the list discriminates against younger people, who more often vote Labour. Between 2010 and 2018, there were just two convictions for voter fraud. According to academic research presented to the House of Commons, these changes may result in 1.1 million fewer voters at the next general election due to the photo ID requirement. Another controversial amendment was granting the government new powers over the independent elections regulator. The Electoral Commission has said it is "concerned" about its independence from political influence in the future. Key elements of the act were opposed by
parliamentary committees A committee or commission is a body of one or more persons subordinate to a deliberative assembly. A committee is not itself considered to be a form of assembly. Usually, the assembly sends matters into a committee as a way to explore them more ...
, the House of Lords, the Electoral Commission, devolved governments, and academics. Changes proposed by the House of Lords were rejected by Boris Johnson's government.
William Wallace, Baron Wallace of Saltaire William John Lawrence Wallace, Baron Wallace of Saltaire, (born 12 March 1941 in Leicester), is a British academic, writer, and Liberal Democrat politician, who was a Lord in Waiting from 2010 to 2015. Early life Wallace was educated at Westmi ...
, described it as a "nefarious piece of legislation" that is "shabby and illiberal".


Foreign affairs


Russian invasion of Ukraine

During the
2021–2022 Russo-Ukrainian crisis In March and April 2021, Russian president Vladimir Putin ordered the Russian military to begin massing thousands of personnel and equipment near its border with Ukraine and in Crimea, representing the largest mobilization since the annex ...
, Johnson's government warned the Russian Government not to invade
Donbas The Donbas or Donbass (, ; uk, Донба́с ; russian: Донба́сс ) is a historical, cultural, and economic region in eastern Ukraine. Parts of the Donbas are controlled by Russian separatist groups as a result of the Russo-Ukrai ...
. Despite this, Johnson's
Foreign Secretary The secretary of state for foreign, Commonwealth and development affairs, known as the foreign secretary, is a minister of the Crown of the Government of the United Kingdom and head of the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office. Seen as ...
Liz Truss told BBC News that British troops were "unlikely" to be deployed. In a phone call to President Vladimir Putin, Johnson urged him to "avoid bloodshed". Johnson and Putin agreed in a phone call to work towards a "peaceful resolution". On 1 February and 9 April 2022, Johnson arrived in Kyiv on a diplomatic visit, becoming the first leader of a major Western power to visit Kyiv during the crisis. He called the presence of the
Russian Armed Forces The Armed Forces of the Russian Federation (, ), commonly referred to as the Russian Armed Forces, are the military forces of Russia. In terms of active-duty personnel, they are the world's fifth-largest military force, with at least two m ...
near the Russia–Ukraine border "the biggest security crisis that Europe has faced for decades". On 20 February 2022, Johnson warned that Russia is planning the "biggest war in Europe since 1945" as Putin intends to invade and encircle Kyiv. In response to the invasion, the UK Government placed several sanctions on the Russian Government. For example, the UK has excluded key Russian banks from the UK financial system, frozen the assets of all Russian banks, barred Russian firms from borrowing money, and placed limits on deposits Russians can make at UK banks. The UK also promised to phase out Russian oil imports by the end of 2022. The UK has also stopped the sale of "golden visas", which allowed wealthy Russians to get British residency rights. The UK increased import tariffs by 35% percent on a number of goods from Russia and Belarus. On 8 March 2022, President Zelensky was invited to address the UK Parliament virtually where he thanked the UK for its support and urged the government to tighten sanctions on Russia. He compared the stand that Ukraine is taking against Vladimir Putin to that which the UK took against Germany in the Second World War. He said: "Just in the same way you didn't want to lose your country when Nazis started to fight your country, you had to fight." President Zelensky then evoked Winston Churchill's most famous speech of defiance, in which he promising to fight "on the beaches", saying: "We'll fight in the forests, on the shores, in the streets." In March 2022, at the Conservative Party's spring conference in
Blackpool Blackpool is a seaside resort in Lancashire, England. Located on the North West England, northwest coast of England, it is the main settlement within the Borough of Blackpool, borough also called Blackpool. The town is by the Irish Sea, betw ...
, Johnson was criticised for comparing the struggle of Ukrainians fighting Russia's invasion to people in Britain voting for Brexit. Since the start of the crisis, the Government has provided £2.3 billion in military support to Ukraine.


Rwanda asylum policy

The UK and Rwanda Migration and Economic Development Partnership was announced in April 2022. It is an immigration policy whereby individuals identified by the United Kingdom as being illegal immigrants or
asylum seekers An asylum seeker is a person who leaves their country of residence, enters another country and applies for asylum (i.e., international protection) in that other country. An asylum seeker is an immigrant who has been forcibly displaced and mi ...
would be relocated to
Rwanda Rwanda (; rw, u Rwanda ), officially the Republic of Rwanda, is a landlocked country in the Great Rift Valley of Central Africa, where the African Great Lakes region and Southeast Africa converge. Located a few degrees south of the Equator ...
for processing, asylum and resettlement. This policy originated in the backdrop of increased English Channel migrant crossings with more than 13,000 people having made the crossing from France between January and August 2022, with around 8,000 arriving since the Rwanda policy was launched. This came with growing political pressure to address the crossings. Those successful in claiming asylum will remain in
Rwanda Rwanda (; rw, u Rwanda ), officially the Republic of Rwanda, is a landlocked country in the Great Rift Valley of Central Africa, where the African Great Lakes region and Southeast Africa converge. Located a few degrees south of the Equator ...
and not be permitted to return to the United Kingdom. The first flight under this plan received legal clearance from the High Court and was scheduled for 14 June 2022. A last-minute interim measure by the European Court of Human Rights (ECHR) led to the flight being cancelled, after stating that the High Court in London must first fully examine whether the removals policy is lawful. A hearing is scheduled for September 2022. Its stated aims are to decrease the amount of migrant crossings in the English channel, stop human smuggling, and boost Rwandan investment and development. Johnson said it would "save countless lives" and would break the business model of "vile people smugglers". The United Kingdom will pay Rwanda an "economic transformation and integration fund" amounting to £120 million, and will also fund each immigrant between £20,000 and £30,000 for their relocation and temporary accommodation in the scheme. On 10 June 2022, ''The Times'' reported that
Prince Charles Charles III (Charles Philip Arthur George; born 14 November 1948) is King of the United Kingdom and the 14 other Commonwealth realms. He was the longest-serving heir apparent and Prince of Wales and, at age 73, became the oldest person to ...
had privately described the plan as "appalling" and feared that it would overshadow the
Commonwealth Heads of Government meeting The Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting (CHOGM; or) is a biennial summit meeting of the governmental leaders from all Commonwealth nations. Despite the name, the head of state may be present in the meeting instead of the head of go ...
in Rwanda on 23 June, where the Prince represented the Queen. The opposition criticised the scheme saying that in the past Rwanda had shot asylum seekers because they protested about food shortages, and had sent asylum seekers back to
Syria Syria ( ar, سُورِيَا or سُورِيَة, translit=Sūriyā), officially the Syrian Arab Republic ( ar, الجمهورية العربية السورية, al-Jumhūrīyah al-ʻArabīyah as-Sūrīyah), is a Western Asian country loc ...
and Afghanistan. The opposition also said that Patel was failing to get a better agreement with France to prevent people crossing the Channel because relevant relationships with France had broken down. In July 2022, the High Court heard that Whitehall officials had initially excluded Rwanda on human rights grounds from the list of potential partners for asylum transfers. One man on the flight that was cancelled due to legal challenges by the ECHR told the BBC he would "prefer to die" than be sent to Rwanda. In August 2022, the BBC reported that supportive ministers of the policy had been warned by their own advisers that the Rwandan government had previously tortured and killed political opponents.


Scandals


Partygate

In early December 2021, reports emerged that social gatherings of government and Conservative Party staff had taken place in 2020 while COVID-19 lockdown restrictions were in place. The '' Daily Mirror'' reported that some Downing Street staff had held multiple gatherings in November and December 2020, after the official Christmas party was cancelled due to COVID regulations. Johnson denied that any rules were broken, and a spokesperson denied that a party occurred. Following a leaked video showing Downing Street staff joking about a "fictional party", at a press conference rehearsal recorded days after the alleged party took place, Johnson apologised for the contents of the video and suggested he had been misled but had now ordered an inquiry into whether a party took place and whether rules were broken. On 10 January 2022,
ITV News ITV News is the branding of news programmes on the British television network ITV. ITV has a long tradition of television news. Independent Television News (ITN) was founded to provide news bulletins for the network in 1955, and has since conti ...
reported that a planned party had taken place on 20 May 2020, at the height of the first lockdown. ITV had obtained an email sent by principal private secretary Martin Reynolds to staff inviting them to "socially distanced drinks" in the garden of No. 10 and asking them to "bring your own booze". At the time, people outdoors were not allowed to meet more than one person from outside their household. Two eyewitnesses later alleged that Johnson and Symonds attended, contradicting Johnson's insistence in December 2021 that there were "no parties". At first, Johnson did not deny that he attended. On 12 January 2022, Johnson apologised to MPs in the Commons for "attending an event in the Downing Street garden during the first lockdown", stating he believed it was "a work event". He said that MPs should await the outcome of the independent inquiry into Westminster lockdown parties, led by senior civil servant Sue Gray, which he said "will report as soon as possible". There were immediate calls across the House for Johnson to resign, voiced mainly by the leaders of the opposition parties. Later, Scottish Conservative leader Douglas Ross said that Johnson should resign and Conservative MPs William Wragg and
Caroline Nokes Caroline Fiona Ellen Nokes (''née'' Perry; born 26 June 1972) is a British Conservative Party politician. She was first elected as the Member of Parliament (MP) for Romsey and Southampton North in Hampshire in the 2010 general election. Elect ...
have subsequently stated their agreement. On 19 January,
Bury South Bury South is a borough constituency represented in the House of Commons of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. At the 2019 General Election it was the 10th most marginal seat in the country, with a majority of 402 for the Conservative Par ...
MP Christian Wakeford publicly announced that he had submitted a letter of no confidence in Johnson's leadership as a result of the scandal. Later that day, shortly before Prime Minister's Questions, it was announced that Wakeford had defected from the Conservative Party to the Labour Party. At the end of Prime Minister's Questions, Conservative former minister David Davis called for Johnson to resign, quoting Leo Amery calling on
Neville Chamberlain Arthur Neville Chamberlain (; 18 March 18699 November 1940) was a British politician of the Conservative Party who served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from May 1937 to May 1940. He is best known for his foreign policy of appeasemen ...
to resign during the Norway Debate in 1940, and saying: "You have sat there too long for all the good you have done. In the name of God, go." (The words are originally attributed to Oliver Cromwell.) In early February 2022, three of Johnson's senior aides resigned: Dan Rosenfield (chief of staff), Reynolds and Jack Doyle (director of communications). By mid-January 2022, Johnson's personal approval ratings were worse than the lowest figures ever recorded by his predecessor Theresa May. Majorities of virtually every political and demographic group questioned stated that they believed Johnson and his colleagues ignored rules and lied over it, and that Johnson should resign. Five polls in early February 2022 showed 63% of people wanted Johnson to resign. In the second week of February Johnson's net personal approval stood at minus 46% with only 13% of voters believing that Johnson had been telling the truth about Partygate, 64% did not.


=Sue Gray report

= In response to Partygate, the Cabinet Secretary and Head of the Home Civil Service
Simon Case Simon Case (born 27 December 1978) is a British civil servant who is the current Cabinet Secretary and Head of the Home Civil Service since 9 September 2020, succeeding Sir Mark Sedwill. Case was Downing Street Permanent Secretary to Prime M ...
initiated and led an investigation into the allegations of partying during lockdown. A few days later he recused himself after it became known that an event had been held in his own office, and subsequently Sue Gray took over the investigation on whether Prime Minister Boris Johnson knew about and participated in gatherings at Downing Street. Gray's initial findings were published on 31 January 2022. In the report, Gray condemned "a serious failure" in the standards of leadership, and also stated that a string of gatherings were "difficult to justify" while millions were unable to meet their friends and relatives. Publication of the full report was postponed pending the completion of an investigation by the
Metropolitan Police The Metropolitan Police Service (MPS), formerly and still commonly known as the Metropolitan Police (and informally as the Met Police, the Met, Scotland Yard, or the Yard), is the territorial police force responsible for law enforcement and ...
. Gray's final report was delivered to Johnson on 25 May 2022 and it was published later that morning.


=Fixed penalty notices

= On 25 January 2022, the
Metropolitan Police The Metropolitan Police Service (MPS), formerly and still commonly known as the Metropolitan Police (and informally as the Met Police, the Met, Scotland Yard, or the Yard), is the territorial police force responsible for law enforcement and ...
's chief commander, Cressida Dick, announced that they were commencing investigations into the Downing Street Parties. Dick stated that "potential breaches of Covid-19 regulations" at Downing Street and Whitehall over the last two years would be looked into. On 12 April 2022 the police made a second batch of (at least 20) referrals to the ACRO Criminal Records Office of fixed penalty notices (FPN) of £50 for breaches of COVID-19 regulations. Downing Street later confirmed that Johnson, as well as his wife and Sunak would be receiving fines. Therefore, Johnson became the first ever serving Prime Minister to have been sanctioned for breaking the law whilst in office. The police reported in May 2022 that their inquiries had resulted in 126 FPNs being issued. Matt Fowler of
Covid-19 Bereaved Families for Justice Covid-19 Bereaved Families for Justice (also known as Covid-19 Bereaved Families for Justice UK) is a pressure group of over 4,000 relatives of people who have died during the COVID-19 pandemic in the United Kingdom. The group created the Nation ...
said: "It's plain as day that there was a culture of boozing and rule breaching at the highest level of government, whilst the British public was making unimaginable sacrifices to protect their loved ones and communities". Keir Starmer called for Johnson to resign and Ed Davey suggested that Parliament be recalled to hold a no confidence vote in Johnson.


=Confidence vote

= In June 2022, the publication of the
Sue Gray report Partygate was a political scandal in the United Kingdom about parties and other gatherings of Government of the United Kingdom, government and Conservative Party (UK), Conservative Party staff held during the COVID-19 pandemic in the United ...
into Partygate and a widespread sense of general dissatisfaction towards Johnson's leadership among Conservative MPs for various disparate reasons, led to a vote of confidence among his Conservative colleagues on 6 June 2022, in which 359 Conservative MPs voted in secrecy; 58.8% (211 MPs) supported Johnson and 41.2% (148 MPs) stated no confidence in his leadership.


Starmer comments controversy

In the Commons on 31 January, Johnson attempted to falsely blame Starmer for the non-prosecution of serial sex offender
Jimmy Savile Sir James Wilson Vincent Savile (; 31 October 1926 – 29 October 2011) was an English DJ, television and radio personality who hosted BBC shows including ''Top of the Pops'' and ''Jim'll Fix It''. During his lifetime, he was well known ...
when Starmer was
Director of Public Prosecutions The Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP) is the office or official charged with the prosecution of criminal offences in several criminal jurisdictions around the world. The title is used mainly in jurisdictions that are or have been members o ...
(DPP) in the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS). Johnson was heavily criticised for the comment and his policy adviser
Munira Mirza Munira Mirza (born May 1978) is a British political advisor who served as Director of the Number 10 Policy Unit under Prime Minister Boris Johnson from 2019 until she resigned on 3 February 2022, citing Johnson's claim that Labour leader Keir Sta ...
resigned three days later, saying in her resignation letter that Johnson had made "a scurrilous accusation" against Starmer. Also on 3 February, during an interview with ''Sky News'', Johnson would not apologise for his comment and tried to defend it by stating that, in 2013, Starmer apologised because the CPS had not investigated Savile; however, Johnson then said: "I totally understand that he tarmerhad nothing to do personally with those decisions". The comment was condemned by Savile's victims, who were sickened that Johnson tried to "weaponize their suffering". On 7 February, while Starmer and his colleague
David Lammy David Lindon Lammy (born 19 July 1972) is an English politician serving as Shadow Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs since 2021. A member of the Labour Party, he has been Member of Parliament (MP) for Tottenh ...
were leaving Parliament, they were ambushed by a group of people who shouted abuse at Starmer including the words "traitor" and "Jimmy Savile". Two people, a man and a woman, were arrested after a traffic cone was thrown at police officers. Johnson tweeted that it was "absolutely disgraceful" and thanked the police for acting swiftly. Shayan Sardarizadeh for BBC Monitoring said that the protest was an attempt to recreate the Ottawa "freedom convoy" protests in the UK, and noted that the activists' references to
Magna Carta (Medieval Latin for "Great Charter of Freedoms"), commonly called (also ''Magna Charta''; "Great Charter"), is a royal charter of rights agreed to by King John of England at Runnymede, near Windsor, on 15 June 1215. First drafted by the ...
indicated that the protesters were members of the sovereign citizen movement. Julian Smith, the former
chief whip The Chief Whip is a political leader whose task is to enforce the whipping system, which aims to ensure that legislators who are members of a political party attend and vote on legislation as the party leadership prescribes. United Kingdom ...
, and
Simon Hoare Simon James Hoare (born 28 June 1969) is a British Conservative Party politician. He has been the Member of Parliament (MP) for North Dorset since May 2015. Education Hoare was educated at the Bishop Hannon High School, Cardiff, a Roman Catho ...
were among Conservatives who called for Johnson to apologise. MP Kim Leadbeater and Brendan Cox, the sister and husband of murdered MP
Jo Cox Helen Joanne Cox ( Leadbeater; 22 June 1974 – 16 June 2016) was a British politician who served as Member of Parliament (MP) for Batley and Spen from May 2015 until her murder in June 2016. She was a member of the Labour Party. Born in B ...
, warned against politicians lending credence to far-right conspiracy theories. The following day, a Downing Street source said that Johnson still would not apologise for the slur against Starmer. Following the incident when activists forced police to protect Starmer and Lammy extremists issued multiple death threats against Starmer and other Labour MPs. The Centre for Countering Digital Hate (CCDH) sent material to the
Metropolitan Police The Metropolitan Police Service (MPS), formerly and still commonly known as the Metropolitan Police (and informally as the Met Police, the Met, Scotland Yard, or the Yard), is the territorial police force responsible for law enforcement and ...
. Imran Ahmed of the CCDH stated, "Every time a violent extremist makes a threat of violence and gets away with it, the norms of those groups worsen, and others are driven to newer depths of behaviour."


Sex scandals

In Mid-2022, four sex scandals involving Conservative MPs were reported in the media along with the convinction for sexual assault of another. These scandals provoked conversations regarding the behaviour and culture in Westminster. In particular, the
Chris Pincher scandal The Chris Pincher scandal is a political controversy in the United Kingdom related to allegations of sexual misconduct by the former Conservative Party Deputy Chief Whip, Chris Pincher. In early July 2022, allegations of Pincher's misconduct ...
was cited as a key contributor in the July 2022 United Kingdom government crisis and the subsequent resignation of Boris Johnson as the leader of the Conservative Party. In April 2022,
David Warburton David John Warburton (born 28 October 1965) is a British politician serving as Member of Parliament (MP) for Somerton and Frome. On his election in the 2015 general election he represented the Conservative Party, but was suspended from the p ...
, the Conservative Member of Parliament (MP) for
Somerton and Frome Somerton and Frome is a constituency in Somerset represented in the House of Commons of the UK Parliament since 2015 by David Warburton, who was elected as a Conservative, but currently sits as an Independent after losing the Conservative whip in ...
had the Conservative
whip A whip is a tool or weapon designed to strike humans or other animals to exert control through pain compliance or fear of pain. They can also be used without inflicting pain, for audiovisual cues, such as in equestrianism. They are generally e ...
withdrawn pending the outcome of an investigation by Parliament's ICGS into allegations that he
sexually harassed Sexual harassment is a type of harassment involving the use of explicit or implicit sexual overtones, including the unwelcome and inappropriate promises of rewards in exchange for sexual favors. Sexual harassment includes a range of actions fro ...
three women. Following his suspension, he said he had not been notified of the details of the allegations by the ICGS but that he denied them. Warburton allegedly asked for cocaine to be bought. The woman complainant said he got into bed with her, naked. She alleged that he ground against her and groped her breasts after she stated repeatedly she did not want sex with him. In May 2022, an unnamed Conservative MP was ordered to keep away from Parliament as he had been arrested on suspicion of rape and other crimes. The MP remains anonymous and has not yet been charged as of August 2022.


=Imran Ahmad Khan

= In 2021,
Imran Ahmad Khan Imran Nasir Ahmad Khan (born 6 September 1973) is a British former politician and convicted sex offender who served as Member of Parliament (MP) for Wakefield from the 2019 general election until 2022. Elected as a Conservative, Ahmad Khan ha ...
, the Conservative Member of Parliament (MP) for Wakefield was charged under the Sexual Offences Act 2003 with having sexually assaulted a 15-year-old boy in 2008. Ahmad Khan denied the accusation "in the strongest terms". In response to the charge, the Conservative Party suspended the
whip A whip is a tool or weapon designed to strike humans or other animals to exert control through pain compliance or fear of pain. They can also be used without inflicting pain, for audiovisual cues, such as in equestrianism. They are generally e ...
pending the outcome of the prosecution. On 11 April 2022, following a week-long trial in the Southwark Crown Court, he was convicted of
sexual assault Sexual assault is an act in which one intentionally sexually touches another person without that person's consent, or coerces or physically forces a person to engage in a sexual act against their will. It is a form of sexual violence, which ...
. The Conservative Party expelled Ahmad Khan from the party following the conviction. He resigned as an MP on 3 May and was jailed for 18 months on 23 May.


=Neil Parish

= On 29 April
Neil Parish Neil Quentin Gordon Parish (born 26 May 1956) is a British farmer and former politician who served as Member of Parliament (MP) for Tiverton and Honiton from 2010 until his resignation in 2022. A member of the Conservative Party, he was previo ...
, the Conservative Member of Parliament (MP) for
Tiverton and Honiton Tiverton and Honiton is a constituency in Devon, England. The current MP is Richard Foord of the Liberal Democrats, elected at a by-election on 23 June 2022. Prior to the by-election, the constituency had always returned a Conservative MP s ...
had the Conservative whip withdrawn after being accused of watching pornography on a personal mobile phone in the
Commons chamber The commons is the cultural and natural resources accessible to all members of a society, including natural materials such as air, water, and a habitable Earth. These resources are held in common even when owned privately or publicly. Commons c ...
. Parish referred himself to the
Commons Select Committee on Standards The Commons Select Committee on Standards is appointed by the House of Commons to oversee the work of the Parliamentary Commissioner for Standards. History The committee was created on 13 December 2012 as one half of the replacements for the Commi ...
following the removal of the whip. The allegation was made by a female Conservative minister, and later corroborated by another unnamed MP. Initially, Parish said that he might have viewed the pornography by mistake. He subsequently told the BBC that he had watched pornography in the Palace of Westminster on two occasions, first accidentally and then deliberately. He said that he had been initially looking at a website about tractors. According to Parish, he then reached "another website with a very similar name" and "watched for a bit". He said: "My crime – biggest crime – is that on another occasion I went in a second time ... that was hilesitting waiting to vote." On 30 April 2022, Parish announced his intention to resign as an MP, which triggered the
2022 Tiverton and Honiton by-election A by-election for the United Kingdom parliamentary constituency of Tiverton and Honiton was held on 23 June 2022. The vacancy was caused by the resignation on 4 May 2022 of the incumbent Member of Parliament (MP), Neil Parish of the Conservati ...
on 23 June 2022. On 4 May, he was appointed as Crown Steward and Bailiff of the Manor of Northstead, disqualifying him as an MP and vacating his seat.


=Chris Pincher

= On 30 June 2022, Chris Pincher, the Conservative Member of Parliament (MP) for Tamworth resigned as a Government Deputy Chief Whip after he admitted he had "drunk far too much" the night before at the
Carlton Club The Carlton Club is a private members' club in St James's, London. It was the original home of the Conservative Party before the creation of Conservative Central Office. Membership of the club is by nomination and election only. History The ...
, a private members' club, in St James's, London, and having "embarrassed myself and other people". It was alleged that he had groped two men. He was suspended as a Conservative MP but will stay in Parliament as an independent. On 3 July 2022, six new allegations against Pincher emerged, involving behaviour over a decade. Three complaints are that Pincher made unwanted advances against other male MPs, one in a bar at the House of Commons and one in Pincher's parliamentary office. One complainant reportedly gave Downing Street details in February and expressed concerns over Pincher becoming a whip in charge of other MPs' welfare. Pincher maintained he had no intention of resigning as an MP. In the following days, it emerged that Boris Johnson had been briefed about Pincher's alleged misconduct in 2017, which Johnson had initially denied. Johnson was also alleged, by his former aid Dominic Cummings, to have described him as "Pincher by name, pincher by nature." On 5 July, the ex-top civil servant Simon McDonald published a letter to the Parliamentary Commissioner for Standards stating that the claim there had been no previous official complaints against Pincher were untrue. These false denials by Johnson and Pincher's appointment to deputy chief whip in spite of his history triggered a political scandal, which evolved into a government crisis resulted in Boris Johnson resigning as Conservative Party leader on 7 July 2022.


Government crisis and resignation as leader

In early July 2022, 62 of the United Kingdom's 179 government ministers,
parliamentary private secretaries A Parliamentary Private Secretary (PPS) is a Member of Parliament (United Kingdom), Member of Parliament (MP) in the United Kingdom who acts as an unpaid assistant to a Minister of the Crown, minister or Shadow Minister, shadow minister. They ar ...
, trade envoys, and party chairmen resigned from their positions in the second Johnson ministry, culminating in Conservative Party leader and Prime Minister Boris Johnson's resignation on 7 July.
Johnson's premiership Boris Johnson's term as the prime minister of the United Kingdom began on 24 July 2019 when he accepted an invitation of Queen Elizabeth II to form a government, following the resignation of his predecessor Theresa May after Parliament's repe ...
had been considered in danger for months after several scandals, but it was the
Chris Pincher scandal The Chris Pincher scandal is a political controversy in the United Kingdom related to allegations of sexual misconduct by the former Conservative Party Deputy Chief Whip, Chris Pincher. In early July 2022, allegations of Pincher's misconduct ...
that was identified to have spurred on the resignations. The scandal arose after it was revealed that Johnson had promoted his Deputy Chief Government Whip Chris Pincher, who was publicly facing multiple allegations of
sexual assault Sexual assault is an act in which one intentionally sexually touches another person without that person's consent, or coerces or physically forces a person to engage in a sexual act against their will. It is a form of sexual violence, which ...
, to the position despite knowing of the allegations beforehand. On 5 July, following the Chris Pincher scandal, both
Rishi Sunak Rishi Sunak (; born 12 May 1980) is a British politician who has served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom and Leader of the Conservative Party (UK), Leader of the Conservative Party since October 2022. He previously held two Cabinet of ...
and Sajid Javid, respectively
Chancellor of the Exchequer The chancellor of the Exchequer, often abbreviated to chancellor, is a senior minister of the Crown within the Government of the United Kingdom, and head of His Majesty's Treasury. As one of the four Great Offices of State, the Chancellor is ...
and Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, resigned almost simultaneously. A large number of other members of the government also resigned, leading to speculation over whether Johnson would continue as prime minister. Conservative and opposition MPs, including some members of Johnson's
Cabinet Cabinet or The Cabinet may refer to: Furniture * Cabinetry, a box-shaped piece of furniture with doors and/or drawers * Display cabinet, a piece of furniture with one or more transparent glass sheets or transparent polycarbonate sheets * Filing ...
, called for Johnson himself to resign. Johnson also dismissed
Michael Gove Michael Andrew Gove (; born Graeme Andrew Logan, 26 August 1967) is a British politician serving as Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities and Minister for Intergovernmental Relations since 2021. He has been Member of Parli ...
, Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, who had refused to publicly affirm his support for Johnson. Sixteen ministers left Boris Johnson's government on 6 July - a record for a single day across the whole of British parliamentary history. After previously saying he would remain as Conservative Party leader to see through the party's manifesto pledges, Johnson announced on 7 July that he would resign as Prime Minister and Conservative Party leader, but remained in office in a caretaker role until his successor, his
Foreign Secretary The secretary of state for foreign, Commonwealth and development affairs, known as the foreign secretary, is a minister of the Crown of the Government of the United Kingdom and head of the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office. Seen as ...
Liz Truss, was formally appointed by the Queen on 6 September 2022. At Prime Minister's Questions on 13 July 2022, Johnson said that he would leave office "with my head held high." After the opposition called for a motion of no confidence, Johnson's government called a vote of confidence in itself, which they won. At his last Prime Minister's Questions, Johnson asked his successor to "stick by the Americans" and "stand by the Ukrainians," and quoted
Arnold Schwarzenegger Arnold Alois Schwarzenegger (born July 30, 1947) is an Austrian and American actor, film producer, businessman, retired professional bodybuilder and politician who served as the 38th governor of California between 2003 and 2011. ''Time'' ...
's "
Hasta la vista, baby "Hasta la vista, baby" is a catchphrase associated with Arnold Schwarzenegger's title character from the 1991 science fiction action film '' Terminator 2: Judgment Day''. Origin and use The term "Hasta la vista", literally "Until the view", ...
" catchphrase before receiving a standing ovation.


Lebedev meetings

During a
select committee Select committee may refer to: *Select committee (parliamentary system), a committee made up of a small number of parliamentary members appointed to deal with particular areas or issues *Select or special committee (United States Congress) *Select ...
hearing on 6 July 2022, Boris Johnson confirmed that he had met Alexander Lebedev (an ex- KGB agent), when he was
Foreign Secretary The secretary of state for foreign, Commonwealth and development affairs, known as the foreign secretary, is a minister of the Crown of the Government of the United Kingdom and head of the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office. Seen as ...
on 28 April 2018 without any officials present. The meeting took place at Evgeny Lebedev's villa in Umbria, Italy - the son of Alexander Lebedev, the day after a NATO summit in Brussels, Belgium in the aftermath of the Salisbury poisinings. On 29 April 2018, the day after the meeting, The Guardian reported that Johnson went to Italy without a police escort. Whilst in Perugia Airport on 29 April 2018, fellow passengers on his flight reported that Johnson was "looking like he had slept in his clothes" as well as "struggling to walk in a straight line and telling other passengers he had had a heavy night." The meeting drew questions around national security from the opposition. Whilst Boris Johnson was the Mayor of London, Johnson took at least four trips to the villa of Evgeny Lebedev (a Russian-British businessman who owns Lebedev Holdings Ltd which owns the Evening Standard and The Independent) with Johnson quoted in 2011 as saying that "I am proud to call him a friend". In July 2020, Johnson nominated Evgeny Lebedev as a cross-bench peer in the House of Lords which drew criticism with suggestions of cronyism. In March 2020, the House of Lords Appointments Commission had written to the Prime Minister advising him against granting Lebedev a lifetime seat in the Lords because the appointment posed a national security risk. Concerns were also raised by
security services Security Service or security service may refer to: Government * Security agency, a nation's institution for intelligence gathering * List of security agencies (MI5, NSA, KGB, etc.) * (SD), Nazi German agency which translates as "Security Servi ...
. In March 2020, two days after the initial rejection, Johnson was reported to have met Lebedev at his home. By June 2020,
Cabinet Office The Cabinet Office is a department of His Majesty's Government responsible for supporting the prime minister and Cabinet. It is composed of various units that support Cabinet committees and which co-ordinate the delivery of government objecti ...
officials advised that the security services no longer deemed his peerage as problematic and Lebedev assumed office into the House of Lords as a life peer on 17 December 2020. The Sunday Times reported that Johnson had gone ahead with granting the peerage despite the security service assessment which Boris Johnson subsequently denied.


Post-premiership

After stepping down as party leader, Johnson reverted to being an ordinary backbench MP. Following the
death of Queen Elizabeth II On 8 September 2022, at 15:10 BST, Elizabeth II, Queen of the United Kingdom and the other Commonwealth realms, and the longest-reigning British monarch, died of old age at Balmoral Castle in Scotland, at the age of 96. The Queen's death wa ...
, Johnson took part in Charles III's
Accession Council In the United Kingdom, the Accession Council is a ceremonial body which assembles in St James's Palace in London upon the death of a monarch to make formal proclamation of the accession of the successor to the throne. Under the terms of the Ac ...
, and many other funeral-related events. After Liz Truss announced her resignation as Conservative Party leader on 20 October 2022, Johnson sought support from MPs to run in the subsequent leadership election, and received support from several cabinet members. Three days later, he announced that he would not stand, stating that he would not have enough support from MPs to govern effectively. After his former
Chancellor of the Exchequer The chancellor of the Exchequer, often abbreviated to chancellor, is a senior minister of the Crown within the Government of the United Kingdom, and head of His Majesty's Treasury. As one of the four Great Offices of State, the Chancellor is ...
Rishi Sunak Rishi Sunak (; born 12 May 1980) is a British politician who has served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom and Leader of the Conservative Party (UK), Leader of the Conservative Party since October 2022. He previously held two Cabinet of ...
was elected unopposed as party leader and Prime Minister, Johnson congratulated him and urged Conservatives to give Sunak "their full and wholehearted support.


See also

* List of international prime ministerial trips made by Boris Johnson *
2010s in United Kingdom political history 2010s political history refers to significant political and societal historical events in the United Kingdom in the 2010s, presented as a historical overview in narrative format. There were four Prime Ministers during this time (Brown, Camero ...
*
2020s in United Kingdom political history 2020s political history refers to significant political and societal historical events in the United Kingdom in the 2020s, presented as a historical overview in narrative format. Boris Johnson Premiership, 2019–2022 General history Bori ...


Notes


References


Further reading

* Arbuthnott, George, and Calvert, Jonathan, '' Failures of State: The Inside Story of Britain's Battle with Coronavirus'' (HarperCollins, 2021). * * * * MacMillan, Catherine. "Lords of Misrule? Carnivalesque Populism in the Brexit Discourse of Nigel Farage and Boris Johnson." ''MCES-2020: 59'
online
* O'Toole, Fintan, "The King of Little England", '' The New York Review of Books'', 68#10 (10 June 2021), pp. 44–46. * * Römer, Felix. "Boris Johnson, Thatcherism and the rhetoric of'wealth creators'." ''Renewal'' (0968252X) 28.2 (2020). * Schwarz, Bill. "Boris Johnson's Conservatism: an insurrection against political reason? Boris Johnson's newly adopted persona as embodiment of the people's will represents another step along the road towards a very English populism." ''Soundings'' (13626620). (Winter2019/2020), Issue 73, pp 12–23. * {{Boris Johnson, state=expanded Boris Johnson Johnson, Boris History of the Conservative Party (UK) 2019 in the United Kingdom 2020 in the United Kingdom 2021 in the United Kingdom 2022 in the United Kingdom 2010s in British politics 2020s in British politics Contemporary British history