On Thursday, UK Prime Minister, 58, Boris Johnson resigned as leader of Britain’s Conservative party, after dozens of ministers quit from his top team. It was the defence and the finance minister whose resignations sparked the mass departure of the conservative party. A total of 58 ministers quit the government following an ethics scandal that ultimately forced the U.K Prime Minister to resign.
Mr. Johnson outside 10 downing street said, “It is clearly the will of the parliamentary Conservative party that there should be a new leader of that party, and therefore a new prime minister.” He added, “ after three tumultuous years in office defined by Brexit, the Covid pandemic and non-stop controversy over my reputation for mendacity, sad… to be giving up the best job in the world.” He further added he “ was immensely proud” of his achievements in the office. He would stay on as Prime Minister until a replacement is found. The leadership election will take place over the summer and the winner will replace Mr. Johnson at the party’s annual conference in early October, as reported by the BBC. It will be during early October that the new U.K, Prime Minister will be announced.
after the resignation of the U.K’s Prime Minister, naturally, the question arises, who will replace him? many did not even wait for the news to break out while others who have been expected to be running for the PM’s position are yet to declare it openly.
The list of top contenders includes – Ben Wallace, ( defence secretary), Rishi Saunak ( former Chancellor leadership), Penny Mordaunt ( former defence secretary), Sajid Javid ( former health secretary), Liz Truss ( foreign secretary), Tom Tugendhat ( former military officer), Nadhim Zahawi ( former education secretary), Jeremy Hunt ( former health secretary), Suella Braverman ( attorney general), Steve Baker, Priti Patel ( home secretary).
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Impact on India-UK Relations
Arindam Bagchi, MEA spokesperson said, “ the resignation of British Prime Minister Boris Johnson is an internal development, which India has been watching closely but the relations between the two countries will not be impacted by the change in the country’s leadership.”
India had said that the resignation of Boris Johnson will not impact India’s relations with the U.K as both the countries share a close multifaceted partnership.
“PM Modi and PM Johnson have enjoyed a very close friendship. The U.K is an important strategic partner and we have shared a multifaceted partnership and relationship, which India would like to continue as it is based on links at various levels between our two people as well as various verticals as we discussed, as part of our partnership,” the Ministry of External Affairs spokesperson Arindam Bagchi said on Thursday. In a response to a question asked about the impact of Boris Johnson’s resignation on the FTA ( Free Trade Agreement) deal between India and the U.K. Spokesperson, Bagchi responded by saying “ the negotiations between India and U.K are ongoing and India hopes to sign the deal soon.” He further added that “ there is no deadline to sign the deal, as it is a commerce-led process. But it would be great if it could be done within the time.” Bagchi said that India stands on meeting the deadline to sign the deal by Diwali this year. India and the U.K announced their intention to have a comprehensive Free Trade Agreement deal during a virtual summit held in May 2021 between both Prime Ministers. The negotiations began early this year. The deal holds special importance as the key points in the FTA deal are several non-tariff barriers, rules related to investor protection, intellectual property rights, and harmonisation of governance and standards. Though the change in the U.K leadership should not have any impact on the ongoing deal as well as on India and the United Kingdom’s relations.
Impact on US-BRITAIN Relations
United States President Biden said that he is looking forward to continuing “ close cooperation” with the United Kingdom after the British PM decided to step down. Although there is no official statement from the White House regarding Johnson, Biden said that he hopes “ the special relationship between the people of America and Britain remains strong and enduring” and also that they need to work together on issues like the ongoing crisis in Ukraine.
Charles Kupchan, who served as President Barack Obama’s Europe adviser in the White House said, “When the dust settles in London, Johnson’s resignation will do better than harm to the US-UK relationship,” as reported. The relationship between Biden and Johnson has not been very smooth. As Biden once called Johnson a “physical and emotional clone” of Donald Trump, the then President was not convinced by the prospect of Brexit and the resultant threat on the Good Friday agreement in Northern Ireland. Although, both countries united while approaching the Russia-Ukraine conflict and both were heavy in their criticism of Russian President Vladimir Putin. As both the nations U.S and the U.K have supplied a heavy number of weapons to Ukraine.
