Boris Johnson (born 19 June 1964) was Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 24 July 2019 to 6 September 2022, succeeding Theresa May and preceding Liz Truss. He was a Conservative Party politician who had also served as Mayor of London from 4 May 2008 to 9 May 2016 (succeeding Ken Livingstone and preceding Sadiq Khan) and Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs from 13 July 2016 to 9 July 2018, succeeding Philip Hammond.
Biography
Boris Johnson was born in the Upper East Side of Manhattan, New York City, New York in 1964 to wealthy upper-middle class English parents. He was educated at the European School of Brussels, Ashdown House School, and Eton College, and he was elected President of the Oxford Union in 1986 while attending Balliol College, Oxford. He began his career in journalism at The Times, but was sacked for falsifying a quotation.
He later became The Daily Telegraph's Brussels correspondent, with his articles exerting a strong influence on growing Eurosceptic sentiment among the British right-wing. He was assistant editor from 1994 to 1999 before serving as editor of The Spectator from 1999 to 2005. In 2001, he was elected the Conservative MP for Henley, and he supported One-nation conservatism, holding liberal views on social issues and the economy.
He made regular television appearances, wrote books, and continued his journalism career, and his colorful (if controversial) personality made him one of the most recognizable British politicians.
From Mayor to MP
In 2008, he resigned his seat in the House of Commons after defeating Labour Party incumbent Ken Livingstone to become Mayor of London. He banned alcohol consumption on public transport, championed the city's financial sector, and introduced the New Routemaster buses, cycle hire scheme, and the Thames cable-car. In 2012, he was re-elected, and he oversaw the 2012 Summer Olympics. In 2015 he was elected MP for Uxbridge and South Ruislip, and he stepped down as Mayor the following year. In 2016, Johnson became a prominent supporter of Brexit, and he served as Foreign Secretary from 2016 to 2018 under Prime Minister Theresa May. In July 2018, three days after the Cabinet met at Chequers to discuss a new Brexit plan, Johnson and Brexit Secretary David Davis resigned their posts. In 2019, he won the leadership contest following May’s resignation, and he became Prime Minister on 24 July 2019. He pledged to complete Brexit by 31 October with or without a deal, to hire 20,000 additional policemen, to upgrade hospitals, and to bring back national pride and hope.
Premiership
Johnson's inauguration
Johnson faced several major problems during his premiership; on 2 August 2019, Conservative MP Chris Davies lost his seat in Wales, reducing the Conservative working majority to one seat. In addition, Johnson was booed by pro-European and Scottish nationalists when he visited Scotland, his Brexit plan was estimated to cause a year-long recession and a plunge of 10% in the value of the British pound if a no-deal Brexit succeeded, he was criticized in Wales for having no concrete Brexit plan, and he became unpopular in Northern Ireland for comparing the Northern Ireland-Ireland border to the borders between London boroughs, acting cavalier about The Troubles. Unionism shrunk among the British electorate, especially as most Brexit supporters were English nationalists who cared little for the United Kingdom. On 3 August 2019, CNN analyst Lucas McGee predicted that Johnson could be the last Prime Minister of the United Kingdom.
Johnson running for MP, 2014
Loss of majority
Johnson shouting at defectors from his party, 3 September 2019
Johnson's premiership continued to be met with disaster throughout August and September 2019. His insistence on a no-deal Brexit led to Conservative MP Phillip Lee's defection to the Lib Dems on 3 September and the rebellion and subsequent expulsion of 21 Conservative MPs from their party that same day. On 5 September, Johnson's own brother Jo Johnson resigned from cabinet due to his inability to reconcile his conflicting loyalties to both his family and his country. On 7 September, in response to Johnson's expulsion of the 21 Conservative MPs from the party, which left him without a working majority, Amber Rudd resigned from Johnson's government, which she criticized as un-democratic. Johnson's premiership crumbled as his hopes for a no-deal Brexit and a general election to regain his majority were dashed by Labour Party leader Jeremy Corbyn and the parliamentary opposition. On 6 September, the House of Lords passed a measure requiring Johnson to ask the European Union for an extension of the Brexit deadline.
2019 general election
Johnson giving his victory speech in Uxbridge, 12 December 2019
On 6 November 2019, he succeeded in his call for a general election to be held on 12 December 2019, hoping to strengthen his hand in Brexit negotiations. A 10 December 2019 YouGov poll predicted that the Conservatives would increase their seat count from 298 to 339 and hold a 28-seat majority, while Labour would decrease from 244 to 231, the SNP would rise from 35 to 41 seats, the Lib Dems would rise from 12 to 15 seats, Plaid Cymru would retain its 4 seats, the GPEW would retain its one seat, and the other parties would win 19 seats. Ultimately, the Tories won 365 seats, Labour won 202, the SNP won 48, and the Lib Dems won 11, delivering Johnson the largest Conservative majority since 1987 and dealing Labour its worst defeat since 1935. Under Johnson, the Conservatives campaigned to "Get Brexit Done", to expand the NHS, and to create a carbon-free economy, winning them widespread support among "Remain" supporters in the Labour heartlands in North Wales and northern England, as well as among moderates opposed to Corbyn's radical policies and the anti-Semitism allegations against his party. Johnson promised that he would adhere to One-nation policies during his government, thanking the Labour voters who placed their trust in him.
During his premiership, Johnson presided over the government's response to the COVID-19 pandemic by rolling out a nationwide vaccine program and emergency powers meant to address the pandemic's impact. Additionally, Johnson played a major role in leading the West's support for Ukraine amid the 2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine, arming the Ukrainians with tanks, weapons, drones, and other combat materials, in addition to funding; as a result, Johnson became popular among Ukrainians and their diaspora. However, Boris was embroiled in scandal after the Daily Mirror revealed, on 30 November 2021, that Johnson had held parties at Downing Street which violated COVID protocols and coincided with the mourning period following Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh's death. On 25 May 2022, the publication of the "Sue Gray report" led to his party holding a vote of no-confidence against Johnson, which he narrowly survived with the support of 59% of the Conservative Party's MPs. In July 2022, however, revelations that he had lied about his awareness of Deputy Chief Whip Chris Pincher's sexual assault allegations when appointing Pincher led to mass resignations of members of the government and calls for Johnson to resign. On 7 July, Johnson announced that he would resign as Leader of the Conservative Party, but decided to remain as Prime Minister in a "caretaker" capacity until a new leader could be named. On 6 September 2022, he left office after Liz Truss won the Conservative leadership election. He resigned from Parliament on 9 June 2023 after the House's Privileges Committee announced that he would be sanctioned for misleading Parliament over his involvement in Partygate.