Johnson will stay on but only as caretaker PM, new cabinet agrees

As you're probably aware by now, Boris Johnson has resigned as Conservative leader and will step down as prime minister when a replacement is found. But how does that happen?

In theory the prime minister could resign immediately and a caretaker could take over - but while there are calls for this from Tory MPs, opposition parties and Conservative Party grandees like former PM John Major - there is currently no indication this will happen.

He could also be ousted by a vote of no confidence in Parliament, but this would rely on Tory MPs supporting an opposition motion and voting against their own government - an unlikely scenario.

So the most probable course of events to find a new PM is an internal leadership election replaces Johnson as the top Tory.

It's been suggested that process could last until October, although it could be much shorter with the replacement of Theresa May as leader only taking two months.

Conservative Party leadership votes are split into two sections. In the first phase MPs whittle down a list of colleagues who put their names forward in a series of votes until two final candidates remain.

These two final MPs are then put to the party membership to pick who will be the next leader.

Read our analysis of how the next few weeks and months could play out - as well as the ins and outs of internal Tory politics - here.

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Is the European Union rubbing its hands with glee at Boris Johnson's downfall? Yes but also no.

When asked by journalists on Thursday if any extra bottles of champagne had been ordered in response to news of his resignation, an EU spokesman drily responded: "We have a very limited consumption of alcoholic beverages in the (European) Commission."

This, a presumed dig at Johnson, who recently admitted there was "a problem with alcohol" in UK political circles.

He was also accused of tolerating and attending boozy gatherings at Downing Street during the strict Covid lockdown.

All over the European press, Johnson is not beloved in the EU.

'Borexit' screamed Germany's biggest tabloid, Bild on Thursday. It also chose to write an English headline: "Bye Bye Boris".

But most EU diplomats I've been chatting to regard the mass resignations of Conservative ministers around Boris Johnson as self-serving attempts to save their career rather than signs of disagreement with his policies, Brexit-related or otherwise.

"This Johnson resignation just means more uncertainty for us Europeans. More UK inward-looking obsession with its own domestic dramas, rather than looking outwards towards partners abroad," grumbled one particularly fed-up EU diplomat.

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We've put together a compilation of the pictures capturing the rise and fall of Boris Johnson - from his days as an Eton schoolboy, his time as London mayor, to the events of his two and a half years as Prime Minister.

Here are five iconic shots of his career:

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He's announced he's standing to be the next leader of the Conservative Party - and prime minister.

But what do we know about Tom Tugendhat? Here are a few facts about the Tonbridge and Malling MP.

• He's a former soldier and served in Iraq and Afghanistan
• The 49-year old is married, with two children
• He's never served in government, but is currently chair of the foreign affairs select committee
• He holds dual British and French citizenship
• First elected in Kent in 2015, he was re-elected in 2019
• Before becoming an MP he was the military assistant to the Chief of the Defence Staff.
• Tugendhat’s father is the High Court Judge Sir Michael Tugendhat and his uncle is the Conservative politician and former EU Commissioner, Christopher Tugendhat

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Boris Johnson has stood down as Conservative leader, but will continue to serve as PM until the party chooses his successor.

When is the next general election due?

UK general elections - where all 650 MPs are elected to the House of Commons - have to be held no more than five years apart.

Unless an earlier one is called, the next election isn't due until January 2025.

Would a new PM need to hold an early election?

Now that Johnson has resigned, the Conservative Party will need to choose a new leader. The winner of that contest will become the next PM.

The new PM would not be obliged to call an early election - but could do so if they wished.

When Gordon Brown took over from Labour prime minister Tony Blair in 2007, for example, he did not hold an early election.

How is an early election called?

If a PM wants an early election they need to make a "request" to the Queen to dissolve Parliament - the official term for closing Parliament in order to hold an election.

Read more about the process here

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Chair of the Commons foreign affairs committee Tom Tugendhat has launched his bid to become the next leader of the Conservative Party - and prime minister.

In an article in the Telegraph newspaper, he says he would bring a "clean start". He writes that he wants to build a "broad coalition of colleagues" to "bring new energy and ideas to government" and "bridge the Brexit divide".

Setting out his stall, he writes that "taxes, bluntly, are too high." Specifically: "We should immediately reverse the recent National Insurance hike and let hard-working people, and employers, keep more of their money. Fuel tax must come down. And un-conservative tariffs, that push up prices for consumers, should be dropped."

He talks about the cost of living as an "national security issue" and says there should be more police on the streets to tackle crime.

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We've been hearing from people around the country in the wake of Boris Johnson's resignation announcement.

In Cheltenham, where MP Alex Chalk resigned as solicitor general yesterday, voters have been sharing their views on a seismic day for UK politics.

Kim Pringle says she is "disgusted" with politics in Britain, the government and the cabinet.

"They have no scruples, they have no morals and they have no integrity. And the lies, that have come since Boris went on his campaign. It’s just astounding," she says.

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Nichola Vaughan, a self-confessed "floating voter", says "everybody needs to take a deep breath".

She adds: "I think that people in government need to realise that a lot of people in this county are not London centric, not government centric. We base our views and our votes on the people in our local area...sometimes I’m Lib Dem, sometimes I’m Conservative.”

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Also reacting from Cheltenham is Daksha Mistry, who says the country needs a leader with "credibility" who can garner respect.

“We were avid supporters of the Conservatives, and he’s [Johnson] pretty much just embarrassed us lately," she says.

Earlier today, one Tory MP - who quit dramatically from a government post yesterday - told me ministerial posts could prove a challenge to fill.

But, they added, some might accept positions if only to "put the country first" and keep government functioning.

Certainly a few of tonight's appointments have turned heads.

Will Quince has returned as an education minister. Remember he quit after being wheeled out to defend Downing Street's handling of the Chris Pincher sexual misconduct allegations - later saying he was "given assurances" the prime minister had no knowledge of former allegations against Mr Pincher, which turned out to be incorrect.

Johnny Mercer's appointment as a veterans minister has also caused chatter in Westminster circles.

In April last year he resigned from this post - saying he was "forced" to over the treatment of veterans who served in Northern Ireland.

He gave a series of hostile interviews at the time - saying the government had "abandoned people" in a way he couldn't reconcile.

Clearly he's been able to reconcile that now.

These new pictures released by No 10 give us an insight into the moments after the prime minister resigned.

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An MP who said he had "no choice" but to resign yesterday - after "inaccurate briefings" about the Chris Pincher affair - is back in the education department a day later.

Rewinding back to Monday, Colchester MP Will Quince defended Boris Johnson, saying the PM "was not aware" of allegations made against Pincher. It was a line that unravelled, prompting Quince's departure.

Tonight Quince is on a list of new appointments, working for the same prime minister.

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Veteran Conservative Lord Michael Heseltine says Boris Johnson should leave office straight away.

The former deputy prime minister says there is a "lack of trust" in Johnson.

"Leaving him in a position where he can use the power of the premiership to suit his own causes and his own interests is a very dangerous thing to do”, he tells the BBC.

"It will merely perpetuate the uncertainty," he adds.

The Conservative veteran says rules should be adopted to speed up the process of choosing a new prime minister and Johnson’s deputy, Dominic Raab, should be put in place in the meantime.

It comes after, as we reported earlier, former Prime Minister Sir John Major said it was "unwise" for Boris Johnson to remain in office while his successor is chosen.

We've been speaking to voters to gather their views on the frantic events of the last few days.

Critics of the PM accused him being "economical with the truth", while supporters said it was a "real shame" to see him leave office.

Polling expert Professor Sir John Curtice says recent polling indicates the events of the last 48 hours have negatively impacted the public's willingness to vote for the Conservative Party.

He tells the BBC that one poll taken on Thursday after the raft of ministerial resignations put Tory support at 31%, which Curtice says is "as bad as it was at the height of the Partygate scandal".

However, the University of Strathclyde academic cautions it is still "early days" to know what the public think.

Quote Message: But it's certainly, on that first indication, not done [Tory polling] any good and underlines the potential problem that faces whoever becomes the next Conservative leader."

But it's certainly, on that first indication, not done [Tory polling] any good and underlines the potential problem that faces whoever becomes the next Conservative leader."

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For those who can't get enough of robust debate, BBC Question Time will be live tonight from Barnsley.

The panellists looking at the twists and turns of the last few days in Westminster will be:

• Dehenna Davison, Conservative MP for Bishop Auckland
• Labour's shadow education secretary Bridget Phillipson
• Winston Marshall, musician and former member of Mumford and Sons
• Alastair Campbell, former press secretary for Labour PM Tony Blair
• Daily Telegraph columnist Tim Stanley

You can watch the show live on iPlayer from 20:00 BST and at 22:55 on BBC One .

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It's been an eventful day with Boris Johnson saying he will step down as prime minister. If you're just joining us or need a recap, here are the main developments from the past few hours:

• Johnson will remain as prime minister in a caretaker capacity until the Conservative party has elected a new leader, a newly appointed member of the cabinet says
• A timetable for succession is set to be announced by the 1922 Committee of backbench MPs next week
• But many Conservative figures, including former Prime Minister Sir John Major, have said Johnson should go sooner
• Labour leader Sir Keir Starmer has warned that if Mr Johnson does not step down immediately, his party would table a vote of no confidence in the government in Parliament

• In a meeting with his new cabinet members, Johnson said "major fiscal decisions" would be left for the next prime minister and the government "would not seek to implement new policies"

• Transport secretary Grant Shapps and former health secretary Sajid Javid are considering running in the Conservative leadership contest, while Attorney General Suella Braverman says she will put her name forward
• Deputy PM Dominic Raab and Michael Gove have both ruled themselves out the race

• Downing Street has not denied reports that the prime minister and his wife Carrie Johnson are planning to hold a wedding party at Chequers later this month

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Voters in Boris Johnson’s constituency of Uxbridge and South Ruislip have largely backed his decision to resign as Conservative Party leader, as some argued it was time for him to step down as their MP too.

Sheila Gibb, who says she's never supported Johnson, suggests he won't “be able to show his face” in west London anymore.

“He’ll be totally shamefaced, I’m sure he’ll resign as an MP. That’s what he should do as well, but he’s got no integrity."

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Fellow Uxbridge resident Mark Lewis, who compares Johnson to “an ostrich burying his head in the sand”, agrees his time as an MP could be up.

“He doesn’t care about this area, he never has. The only reason he became an MP is so he could become prime minister. He just happened to pick here."

Rodney and Dorothy Shuttle say they are “pleased” to see Johnson quit, arguing his tenure was dotted with issues that had upset the public.

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“It’s about time, he’s been caught out once too often. He should have stepped down a while back. Now it’s all about who’s going to replace him because there’s not much out there," Dorothy says.

While most people say it was the right decision for Johnson to stand down, some Uxbridge locals have sympathy for the situation he found himself in.

Maqsud Gillani said: “He did OK for a long time and made some good calls. I think we did well during Covid and with the vaccine programme as that was very tough for him."

Another resident, Dolores, who did not want to give her surname, says Johnson "did a good job" as PM and that he will "keep fighting for Uxbridge".

Following the wave of resignations over the last two days, there are 28 junior minister vacancies - but why does this matter?

Junior ministers get a lot less attention than their cabinet bosses, but their work is vital to the normal functioning of government.

What they do can vary from department to department, but put simply they often handle a lot of the less glamorous responsibilities - what one former minister described to the Institute for Government as "the routine stuff, the nuts and bolts".

This could include dealing with correspondence, replying to questions from MPs and making sure bills get passed through Parliament smoothly.

For example, the Online Safety Bill - which introduces wide-reaching reforms of how the internet is regulated - returns to Parliament next week, but the minister responsible for it, Chris Philp, has resigned and is yet to be replaced.