Boris Johnson Faces End as 5 More Ministers Resign

British Prime Minister Boris Johnson's premiership appeared headed for its end Wednesday after five ministers resigned in one fell swoop, adding to the dozens of lawmakers, including his chancellor and health secretary, to step away as his ministers and former allies urged him to resign before he's forced out.

The latest scandal engulfing Johnson's office is the handling of the resignation of former Deputy Chief Whip Chris Pincher after he was accused last week of groping two men, reports CNN.

Johnson has vowed to continue fighting for his office, but members of Parliament, one after another, are urging him to step down for the good of the country, while slamming him for dishonesty and accusing him of eroding public standards.

On Wednesday afternoon, five ministers resigned, and by the end of the day, Johnson lost more than 30 members of the beleaguered prime minister's government.

If Johnson will not step down, conservative lawmakers can reformulate party rules and vote to oust him. But if he does quit, a Conservative leadership campaign would begin, with the winner to become the new prime minister.

That person will have to deal with several domestic issues, such as a cost-of-living crisis, and work with foreign countries, including Ukraine, where Johnson has a good relationship with President Volodymyr Zelenskyy.

But as the pressure grew Wednesday, it became more clear that Johnson's support is being whittled away.

"At some point, we have to conclude that enough is enough," former Health Secretary Sajid Javid, told Johnson in Parliament on Wednesday.

"I have concluded that the problem starts at the top," said Javid, the first in a line of ministers resigning in the past 24 hours. "That is not going to change."

Michael Gove, Johnson's longtime ally and senior cabinet member, is urging him to accept that it's time to step down, two senior advisers with knowledge of the situation confirmed to CNN, after reports broke through Mail+, the digital platform for the Daily Mail.

Gove's office wouldn't comment officially after the sources spoke on the condition of anonymity after the closed-door meeting between Gove and Johnson.

Chancellor Rishi Sunak, one of the officials resigning Tuesday, said in his resignation document: "The public rightly expect government to be conducted properly, competently and seriously. I recognize this may be my last ministerial job, but I believe these standards are worth fighting for and that is why I am resigning."

Conservative member Gary Sambrook prompted applause from lawmakers after he said that Johnson "constantly tries to deflect from the issue, always tries to blame other people for mistakes ... [there is] nothing left for him to do other than to take responsibility and resign."

In addition to the scandal involving Pincher, Johnson has faced several scandals since his landslide win three years ago.

Johnson quickly enacted Brexit, which many in his party had been seeking for years, and even until late last year enjoyed good ratings in opinion polls, including during his COVID-19 vaccine rollout efforts.

Johnson's reputation has been quickly sliding downhill after he sought to overturn the suspension of an ally who had been accused of misconduct and after the police fined him for going to one of the many parties in Downing Street that took place during the pandemic lockdowns.

Johnson has also lost two party MPs because of sex scandals and was not able to regain their seats in the subsequent elections.

In the latest scandal, Johnson admitted he was briefed on an allegation against Pincher, but still promoted him to deputy chief whip.

The Pincher scandal seems to have been the final straw for Johnson's support base. He was only able to squeak through a no-confidence vote in June, and his opponents are saying now they'll allow another vote if Johnson doesn't step down, and this time they expect he'll lose.

Opposition leader Keir Starmer branded Johnson's efforts on Wednesday to hold office as "pathetic," and then attacked the few allies Johnson has left in Parliament, asking them if, "in the middle of a crisis doesn't the country deserve better than a Z list cast of nodding dogs?"