Boris Johnson has been the Prime Minister of the United Kingdom and Leader of the Conservative Party since 2019. He has been under fire in recent months for attending parties at 10 Downing Street during the COVID-19 pandemic, in violation of lockdown rules. Johnson has apologized for attending the parties, but he has so far resisted calls to resign.
Johnson was born in New York City to British parents and has dual British and American citizenship. He was educated at Eton College and the University of Oxford, where he studied Classics. After graduating, he worked as a journalist for The Times and The Daily Telegraph. In 1997, he was elected to the House of Commons as the MP for Henley.
Johnson served in a number of ministerial roles in the Conservative government of David Cameron, including Shadow Minister for Higher Education and Shadow Minister for the Arts. In 2016, he was one of the leading figures in the campaign for the UK to leave the European Union. After the referendum, he was appointed Foreign Secretary by Prime Minister Theresa May.
Johnson resigned as Foreign Secretary in 2018 in protest at May’s Brexit deal. He then led the campaign to oust May as Prime Minister and was elected Leader of the Conservative Party in July 2019. He became Prime Minister on July 24, 2019.
Johnson’s premiership has been dominated by Brexit. He negotiated a new withdrawal agreement with the EU and led the UK out of the bloc on January 31, 2020. He has also been dealing with the COVID-19 pandemic, which has had a major impact on the UK economy and society.
In recent months, Johnson has been under fire for attending parties at 10 Downing Street during the COVID-19 pandemic, in violation of lockdown rules. The parties were investigated by the Metropolitan Police, which issued 126 fines to 83 people, including Johnson. Johnson has apologized for attending the parties, but he has so far resisted calls to resign.
The calls for Johnson to resign have intensified in recent weeks, following the publication of a report by senior civil servant Sue Gray, which found that there had been “failures of leadership and judgment” at 10 Downing Street. The report also found that Johnson had attended parties on several occasions and had been “briefed in advance about some of the gatherings”.
It remains to be seen whether Johnson will resign as Prime Minister. He has said that he will “not step down” and that he has “a huge amount to do” as Prime Minister. However, the pressure on him to resign is likely to continue, and it is possible that he could be forced out of office if more Conservative MPs resign from his government.
