U.K. Prime Minister Boris Johnson announced his resignation as leader of the Conservative Party on Thursday following a wave of departures from his government, including senior Cabinet members. The party will choose a new leader and the country’s next prime minister in the coming days. In the past week, 59 members of Parliament have resigned from the government, and on Wednesday night, a group of Cabinet members went to 10 Downing Street to urge Johnson to step down. This week’s resignations came as Johnson faced increasing criticism for promoting a member of the Conservative Party who was accused of sexual misconduct. “This was one lie too far,” says Priya Gopal, English professor at the University of Cambridge. Gopal says Johnson’s resignation “was more or less inevitable” and the next prime minister is “likely to be a very serious Brexiteering ideologue.”
