[edshakey]

This is glorious:

https://twitter.com/Steven_Swinford/status/1544728307895341056

Kwasi Kwarteng suggested to be axed...

Surely Johnson isn't in a position to be getting rid of willing ministers!

[Bradders]

Patel apparently now in the "get out" group.

As a fun intellectual exercise, how could he actually get through this and remain PM? Anyone?

[Will Hunt]

Brandon Lewis has resigned in a limited and specific way.

[Fultonius]

As much as I enjoy watching this all unfold, on a more serious note - what are the rules about "forming a government". Could a Lab/SNP coalition actually be formed and take over if no-one is left to fill the ministerial positions? Seems far fetched but I have seen it mooted. Will off and Google and report back if I find anything.

[teestub]

I think the Cons would need to be given a chance under a new leader as a first step. Not sure what the timescale on them needing to sort this after a resignation would be, but a few of the more recent ones were quite drawn out from memory.

[Fultonius]

Seems quite difficult to get any clarity on this. Good 'ol unwritten constitution of ours!

[AJM]

I thought a government was basically fine until a vote of no confidence passed against it in the house. So effectively some Tory MPs have to decide they’re angry enough to bring down the entire government in order to dislodge him (which presumably triggers an early election, since any other party government would require permanent support from some conservatives to avoid the same fate, which isn’t going to happen). That feels unlikely given the number of them scared of losing their seats. If he goes, he probably goes via another Tory leadership contest.

I don’t think there’s any rules about how many ministers you need to have, although if there are it’s presumably far less than the current government payroll has been and there might be enough loyalists left to fill the ones which are actually needed.

[TobyD]

Amusing tweet from Jon Sopel
https://twitter.com/jonsopel/status/1544779070008950784?t=Rkq5kggDGGRh_k8FZ7YBqw&s=19

[TobyD]

This is properly crazy now https://news.sky.com/story/boris-johnson-live-updates-pm-fighting-for-political-life-after-sunak-and-javid-quit-12593360

42 members of government gone...

[edshakey]

Chris Mason says he's gone

[remus]

BBC reporting that he's out today.

[slab_happy]

Except he's said that he'll resign -- but wants to stay in place until a new Tory leader is elected, by the time of the party conference in autumn.

[edshakey]

Wonder how many Tory MPs want him out earlier than that

[slab_happy]

Quite a lot, I'm guessing. Especially given his performance over the last few days, which has made it clear that he'll trash anything and everything in pursuit of his own self-interest (for anyone who had not already figured that out).

[andy popp]

Well, he's gone (or going) but how can anyone realistically expect the Tories to conjur a functional government out of this morass of stupidity? Very little has changed, really.

[jwi]

I do not understand from the news if Boris Johnson has actually quit or if he just has said that he will quit. Those are two completely different things, right?

[remus]

I do not understand from the news if Boris Johnson has actually quit or if he just has said that he will quit. Those are two completely different things, right?

Currently he is the leader of the conservative party and the prime minister. He's saying he will resign as leader of the conservative party which will allow a leadership election within the party, then when that's over the new leader of the party will become the pm. In the meantime he will still be pm. A cynic might suggest he's using it as a ploy to cling to power for a little longer...

There's always a pm, but as I understand it the usual order is to resign as both leader of the party and pm at the same time, then an interim pm steps in while the leadership election happens within the party.

[Fultonius]

Basically Johnson has resigned in a limited and specific way...

[galpinos]

I do not understand from the news if Boris Johnson has actually quit or if he just has said that he will quit. Those are two completely different things, right?

He's trying to cling on to power for as long as possible, if only to have been PM longer than Teresa May!

[Johnny Brown]

I understand it the usual order is to resign as both leader of the party and pm at the same time, then an interim pm steps in while the leadership election happens within the party

No, I think the usual order is what is happening - they agree to step down once a successor has been decided. However 'usually' the PM would still have some sort of intact cabinet with which to continue. This isn't the case here, so it looks much more sensible for him to just go and some sort of interim be inserted. Step up deputy Raab perhaps?

[slab_happy]

Also seems like there are a bunch of Tories who think his behaviour within the last 48 hours was SO erratic and irresponsible that it'd be a disaster to leave him in situ.

[Bradders]

I understand it the usual order is to resign as both leader of the party and pm at the same time, then an interim pm steps in while the leadership election happens within the party

No, I think the usual order is what is happening - they agree to step down once a successor has been decided. However 'usually' the PM would still have some sort of intact cabinet with which to continue. This isn't the case here, so it looks much more sensible for him to just go and some sort of interim be inserted. Step up deputy Raab perhaps?

Yes that's what happened with Theresa May.

[steveri]

Strong Trumpian 'denial of reality' vibes!

[seankenny]

Well, he's gone (or going) but how can anyone realistically expect the Tories to conjur a functional government out of this morass of stupidity? Very little has changed, really.

Unfortunately yes. Three leaders in six years suggests a party that has some deep structural problems. Voting for a party led by Johnson suggests something quite wrong with the U.K.

Looks like another couple of years of shite government.

[Wellsy]

They have no way of dealing with the current cost of living crisis, no matter who is in charge, because the Tory Party as it exists right now doesn't have the ideas to resolve it. It's a party of blind commitment to idealogical undermining of the economy.