a warm welcome to our viewers joining us in the united states and all around the world. i'm max foster joining you outside the british houses of parliament where boris johnson is clinging on to power while calls for him to resign are growing by the minute. that and much more just ahead on "cnn newsroom." >> i'm happy to tell you that i'm getting on with the job that i was elected to do. >> it is chaos. >> i think that it is becoming

untenable for him to remain in power. >> there were at least two instances in which police officers could have stopped the gunman. >> i'm just thinking and waiting for somebody to come and save us. >> new urgency from the white house in the case of brittney griner. >> i can't rest as her safety is in question. i honestly can't rest until she's home. live from london, this is "cnn newsroom" with max foster. it is thursday, july 7, 9:00 a.m. here in london where britain's embattled prime minister is vowing to fight for his political future even as calls for him to step down grow even louder and resignations grow longer. the newly appointed chancellor tweeted that this is not

sustainable, it will only get worse for you, for the conservative party and most importantly of all the country. you must do the right thing and go right now. i want to bring up the letter from him though and go into some of the detail. imagine this chancellor is number two in the government, number two to boris johnson. he was only appointed two days ago and the crucial thing that happened yesterday in all of this is when he and other cabinet members went to boris johnson and basically said it is time to go. under any other circumstance, that would be a time for a prime minister to go and i think that everyone is pretty shocked that he decided to stay after that. but it just shows what sort of premiereship we've got with boris johnson. he is not conventional. this is what the chancellor said in the letter, yesterday i made it clear to the rm along with other colleagues -- prime minister along with other colleagues in number 10 that there was only one direction that this was going and that it should -- that he should leave with dignity.

out of respect he didn't talk about this he said, but he is heartbroken that the prime minister hasn't listened to him and is now undermining the incredible achievements of this government at this late hour and he says that this is the government being undermined and integrity of the prime minister is under question. he has to go. boris johnson isn't going anywhere. more than 50 lawmakers now in his government have stepped down including several just in the last few hours. discontent over his leadership intensified of course last week with this latest scandal engulfing the government despite the mounting pressure the prime minister says that he will stay in power. this is the last we heard from him. >> frankly, mr. speaker, the job of a prime minister in difficult circumstances when you've been handed a colossal mandate is to keep going and that is what i'm going to do. >> so close ally was also part

of the cabinet grouping. how can boris johnson respond to him? he fired him. sources say michael gove has urged to accept that his time was up. and we've also learned that cabinet members went to downing street to ask johnson to resign. and that is what zawahi was talking about. and this is after difficult questions not just in the prime minister question session but also a parliamentary committee. >> this is all about you in the end. the reason these things happen is because of you. he took liberties because he knows that you'd take liberties and get away with it. >> last thing this country needs is an election -- >> this house. >> the country, the risk is, the risk is, that people continue to focus on this type of thing and i think that is -- what we need to do is get on with -- >> how will it help the crisis?

>> earliest date that i can see for a general election is 2024. >> he keeps talking about the election, the last election, he keeps talking about how he has a mandate to carry out the work that he promised in that election. that is why he is staying. but 72% of adults in the uk believe that he should resign according to a snap poll. that number is up 10% from a month ago when he survived a confidence vote and this is really what mps are considering, they are questioning whether or not boris johnson does have the mandate of the public. he believes he has. and nada, you were there. this is the impasse, isn't it, he feels that he has a right to remain in downing street and his party doesn't. even his number two, the chan chancellor. >> reporter: in fact. we heard from the prime minister speaking yesterday during the question times in house of commons saying that he believes that he can win the next jen

election. it isn't looking likely though at this point that he will still be in office, the pressure mounting hour by hour as you mentioned that letter being issued by his number two, chancellor zawahi calling on the prime minister to step down. and we've also seen the newly appointed education secretary also announcing her resignation and she was appointed off the appointment of zawahi. and she's already decided to step down from her position. let me read to you from her resignation letter saying to the prime minister you have put us in an impossible situation. i'm deeply saddened that it has come to this, but as someone who values integrity above all else, i have no choice. and that is a central thing that we've heard fromhe overwhelming majority of these resignation letters, integrity and trust. the prime minister still believes that he has a mandate

from his conservative party voters. he believes that he can power through this, weather the storm of the latest challenge in the same way that he has done with previous scandals. this is not the first time we've stood outside downing street talking about crisis in number 10, the prime minister has faced scandal after scandal. and throughout it all, defl deflected, maintaining that he has the mandate. but that mandate is crumbling hour by hour. now we're seeing of course the huge resignations, significant resignations, more than 50 mps of course now have stepped down. the prime minister has lost command of his cabinet. and at this point it feels like it is only a matter of time, but as he said yesterday, he believes that he can still push through. take a listen. >> i look at the issues of this cou country, i look at the pressures people are under and the need

for the government to focus on their priorities. i can't for the life of me see how it is responsible just to walk away from that. >> reporter: the prime minister believes that he can make changes. he is doing to set out for example new economic policies next week, that that will be enough. but as you mentioned, this is clearly not enough for his most senior cabinet ministers across the board. and the question now is what happens next. will this cause enough tension to trigger that vote of confidence that we do potentially expect to see as early as next week. >> away from all the politics and complications of how to replace the prime minister, for the wider public we're pretty much looking at a constitutional crisis if we're not in it already. we've got a situation where departments of state are down to one minister in some cases. but you've also got a situation where the finance minister, the home secretary, have both come out to say the prime minister

should go. people are asking why they are not resigning. you can't close down the national finances or indeed the national criminal justice system. so they have to stay in office so they can't go. we're in a situation where the mechanics of state are grinding to a halt because he is staying. >> reporter: absolutely. and this is the key concern here. we are seeing so many resignations coming in thick and fast at this point. the question is does the prime minister have enough support, enough people that he could actually make replacements, that he can fill these offices now in the wake of these resignations. of course there is a serious concern that he won't be able to do that. and despite that, the prime minister is still pushing forward, he believes that he can still control his cabinet can still push forward with his lawmakers. and of course that isn't the message that we've been hearing from his own members of parliament. as you've mentioned, we've seen significant resignations but also cabinet ministers who decided to remain in office,

many who would have to remain in office in order to keep the government going. directly addressing the prime minister yesterday telling him it is time to go, time to step down. clearly he isn't listening for those calls for him to step down. the question is whether or not this pressure mounting over the coming days will be enough or whether the 1922 committee, they are set to meet next week, whether they will have to change the rules which would essentially protect the prime minister for a vote of confidence for the next 12 months in order to trigger an early vote of confidence that could very well push the prime minister out of office and out of number 10. >> nada, in these moments, we often look to downing street behind you with sometimes that lectern will come out if there is a big national address to be made, people would expect that to happen if boris johnson has something to say of national importance at any point. but there are no signs presumably that the cables are out or anything.

we are just not hearing enough from boris johnson himself. >> reporter: no cables, no lectern. but of course many are on edge keeping their eyes peels as we did with theresa may not long ago waiting for some sort of sign from within number 10. the prime minister though, he remains defiant. we heard yesterday from some of his closest allies saying that he is up for the fight, he will push forward. and at this point, it doesn't sound like he is giving in. but it is still early. only 9:00 here and we've already seen that flurry of resignations coming in. the fact that his number two, zahawi, just a little over 24 hours since he was appointed openly and publicly calling on the prime minister to step down, that is certainly going to speed things up and mount the pressure on the prime minister. he has faced scandals and challenges which would have forced any other prime minister to walk away, to step down, and yet he has weathered those, he has pushed through december

spite previous calls for him to resign not only over scandals but also policy areas as well. the cost of living crisis which quite frankly the government hasn't had much success in, the prime minister said that he plans on implementing new policies, he wants to push through. he says the british public want the government to focus on those policy priorities, that has been his message throughout the last six months in response to all those scandals. and yet it doesn't seem that way. you mentioned 7 out of 10 adults believe that the prime minister should step down, up from last month did iruring that first vo confidence which he narrowly survived. so the question is would he survive another vote of confidence if it does come around. >> all eyes on number 10 downing street today. has boris johnson on what happened yesterday, his reaction to the cabinet arriving there was to fire, you know, a key ally michael gove. so he is very much on the defensive but also on the attack.

we haven't seen any sort of behavior like this from a prime minister in living moerm really. the only sort of comparable situ situation. with theresa may, when they said time is up, she resigned. this is a very different prime minister. i'll just answer the question that i've been asked which is repeatedly i have to say across social media, why can't the queen just fire him. yes in theory she can, but she is there in a ceremonial role, she can't get involved in politics. she only takes direction on the advice of ministers. so unless the cabinet can get together and go to the queen and ask her do this, i don't think that she will do anything in her own right. nada, do you think there is any chance that the cabinet momentum, all eyes on the cabinet really because all the power is with them until the 1922 committee make up their minds on what they are going to do do you think the cabinet

might rally around what the chancellor said and, you know, potentially head down to windsor and say the queen has to do something here? because she could respond to that potentially. >> reporter: well, it does appear that the cabinet ministers are trying all possible routes to really talk sense into the prime minister. you heard senior lawmaker david davis calling the prime minister on do the honorable thing, to step down. that is the sentiment we've been hearing from the cabinet ministers, and also the home sent who has been a loyal ally to boris johnson also joining that delegation at number 10 calling on the prime minister to step down. the game is up and he needs to leave office. but of course that pressure really would have forced any other prime minister to resign at this point it would seem. boris johnson doesn't seem to be taking any moves today, at least

not yet, but of course if that fails there are other options for the cabinet ministers. we're seeing a significant shift in the fact that the dean zahawi has taken his resignation publicly. and so now of course dean zahawi sharing that letter on twitter, it is clear that the prime minister now has lost command of his cabinet, his number twozaha issuing that letter. but whether they go to the queen, that is still to be seen. there are of course all eyes very much focused on the 1922 committee which will meet on monday next week, potentially we could see a vote of confidence pretty soon after that. it does feel as though that is the direction we are heading in. and if a vote of confidence is called on the prime minister, it is widely believe that he would not survive that vote despite his thoughts otherwise according to his closest allies at this

stage. >> i have to say, i've covered a few of these handovers now and i think 1922 committee feels like a very long way off. i think the way things are playing out right now, it is impossible to imagine that boris johnson cannot resign, if not today, or has to be in the very near future. so we'll stick with this because we're waiting to see if the lectern basically comes out on downing street. this is the tradition and boris johnson is not a traditiontradi. if he wants to make a national address, he will go to the lectern. if that happens, then we're pretty much into that sort of final phase of his premiereship. but let's bring in a politics professor from university of london. he would have seen the letter from the newly appointed chancellor like the rest of us have. can boris johnson possibly exist in his post with a letter like that from his number two?

>> no, he's going. i don't think that there is any doubt now that he is going. we're getting briefings from journalists all over the place saying that he has thousand agrenow agreed to resign. so i had 00 be incredulous if it doesn't happen in the next few hours. >> so we're hearing the same report, bbc national broadcaster here saying that he has decided to resign and the other lobby correspondents are getting similar reports as well. he pushed it as far as he could. he had the cabinet going to him yesterday, them asking him to go. he didn't go. and that was really crossing the line for the likes of zahawi. >> yes, it was. i mean, normally when we have seen prime ministers in this situation before, it really hasn't taken a public delegation of their colleagues to tell them their time is up, normally that conversation would be conducted

in private and probably well before what we saw yesterday. i think that it is also the fact that the 1922 committee was clearly going to change the rules. there was clearly going to be a vote of no confidence. i think the fact that he would have lost that vote of no confidence by a very large margin and therefore been humiliated probably will have played a part in his decision. i think dean zahawi's letter probably made a difference as well, but i think the fear of complete humiliation in the end would have made the difference. >> tim bale, thank you for your perspective. all eyes on number 10 downing street. looking that boris johnson will be coming out in the coming hours and giving some sort of statement about his future, that future, nada, not at number 10. he won't go immediately.

effectively he will announce his resignation which will spark a leadership contest. >> reporter: and we're hearing now from the bbc that the prime minister is set to announce that resignation, but of course we'll wait to see directly from the prime minister waiting for that letter to come out as we've seen in the past with hawaii and pre -- theresa may and the previous prime ministers. of course that will trigger the leadership contest, the prime minister expected typically to stay in place as caretaker prime minister until the decision is made on the next leader of the party. there has been a lot of eyes focused on who might take that position of course. there have been numerous names pushed out. it does feel as though there isn't one singular minister who would appear as the overwhelming choice for the conservative party as it has in the past. quite significant as division in the party as some papers touting the former chancellor with an of

the first to kind of issue the bombshell resignation along side the health secretary within minutes of each other. the health secretary gave a statement yesterday. so there will of course a lot of debate on that over the coming weeks. and a lot of division still within the party when it comes to what direction they go next. >> of course what effectively will happen when boris johnson announces his resignation, that sparks a leadership contest, we don't know whether or not he will decide to run in that contest. we just can't predict anything that boris johnson does because he's always broken the rules and that is really how he got into power, wasn't it. he broke the rules on brexit, he went against david cameron who was the prime minister at the time, head to head against -- he is a disrupter, he is someone that many people in the public enjoyed seeing in politics

because he shook the establishment up. but actually that came back to haunt him ultimately. he wasn't responding in the way that he needed to respond when he was part of a team. >> reporter: absolutely, he is certainly a disrupter in number 10. but of course it seems that he may have pushed his limits a little too far breaking those rules, ignoring the public mood, ignoring the mood of his own party and cabinet ministers. of course that has pushed him to this point now. he has remained defiant, maintaining that he is the right leader for the conservative party, that he will push through with his policy priorities which does appear this challenge has proved insurmountable for the prime minister at this stage. it will be interesting to hear what he has to say. of course we've seen him the last few days maintaining extremely defiance saying he is up for the fight. he still believes that he is the prime minister that can secure a win for the conservative party in the next general election

which of course may come sooner given the current circumstances. if we see the lectern come out, it will be interesting to what boris johnson says. it wasn't long ago that theresa may gave quite an emotional speech as she left number 10 as prime minister. so it will be interesting to see how boris johnson approaches this, what his parting words are if he does indeed announce his resignation that we've heard he intends do. >> i think all the main respected political reporters are reporting the same thing. tim bale, one of the reasons that boris johnson has stayed in power so long is that he hasn't had -- there isn't really a competitor for his position, someone that the party likes and they feel will win and election. and there is still an issue, isn't it, but now we'll get a sense of the runners and writers to replace him. who would you put at the top of

the list? >> well, i think the two men who first resigned from cabinet will clearly run, sunak and javik. sunak's star has dimmed in recent times but he feels that he could rise to what he had before the pandemic. and javid could probably send himself as a reasonably safe pair of hands. he's done a lot of jobs in cabinet and hasn't made a mess of any of them. a low bar for some people. a couple people who stayed to demonstrate their loyalty, that was i guess their strategy in the leadership campaign, the foreign secretary and also ben wallace the defense secretary, they will go for it as well. i think that it is up to the conservative party whether it feels that it can go with one of those people who are strongly associated with the boris johnson era, if you like, or whether it wants a complete

clean skid and it wants perhaps even to go to the back benches. so someone like tom tugment a n might fancy his chances. and there is also jeremy hunt who stood against boris johnson in 2019 and lost. i think that the problem for hunt and i think the problem for anybody like hunt is that the conservative party membership is strongly eurosceptic and will be looking for someone who will maintain the kind of friction al relationship with the e uu that boris johnson is known for. >> and the markets will be watching this, particularly the currency markets, the idea that someone coming in might have a better relationship with the european union which would be healthy for the pound. but we'll wait to see what happens there. in terms of mechanics here, boris johnson will stay on presumably as a caretaker prime

minister until replacement is announced. latest that would happen would probably be october, but it would be part of a negotiation with the back bench mps. how would that be playing out behind the scenes? >> i'm not sure that that assumption is correct, i'm not sure that the party would want boris johnson to be caretaker. normally that would be unquestionable. but given his behavior the last few days, it may -- i'm not predicting this, but it may be the case that they choose someone as interim prime minister, someone who is not going to stand in the leadership contest but someone who has a little bit more stability if you like. but yes, it would be the first stage of the leadership contest which will be all about the

conservative mps voting. they have to choose in the end two people who would then go ahead to a ballot of the membership in the country. and that probably numbers around 150,000 people. so we'll be in a situation of 150,000 not represented people will be choosing our prime minister. >> just to clarify on the caretaker element of this, with the 22 committee, if they just appoint someone today or tomorrow, how would that work? how would that work in terms of getting a temporary caretaker? >> it wouldn't be the 1922 committee. it would probably be the cabinet and indeed the parliamentary party as a whole would simply

insist on boris johnson giving up the post and being replaced by someone else. he could of course refuse and we height get into a very difficult constitutional position. i'm not saying that that will necessarily happen, but if you are a conservative mp looking at the events of the last few days, you are looking for a safe pair of hands and look after the government for the next month or two while you conduct leadership election. would you really pick boris johnson as that man, that is all i'm saying. >> we've heard that the prime minister will make a statement to the country today. let's go to nada on that. we presume that he would because this is a big matter of state. what is everyone saying there about the timing of any sort of announcement?

>> reporter: we expect him to come out to the lectern here around lunchtime here in london, so we could hear really the final fate of the prime minister in the next couple of hours. there has been of course mounting speculation, real questions this morning, can the prime minister seriously push through this given the resignations we've seen, more than 50, they were coming in thick and fast this morning as some of the most senior allies and cabinet ministers stepping down, others still in office, calling on the prime minister to leave office, to step down from his post. of course there were questions whether he would push through. yesterday he seemed pretty defiant, he said that he was up for a fight, that he would challenge any possible vote of confidence. he believed that he could win that vote of confidence. clearly there has been a shift in his thinking, programs the messages from his cabinet ministers yesterday speaking directly to him in a closed door meeting at number 10, maybe that message has finally got lieu.

they simply cannot go on. he has lost the trust of some of his closest allies in government and of course he has lost what is the support of the conservative party. you mentioned earlier the polling data, 7 in 10 adults believe that the prime minister should step down. he seemed defiant, he seemed that he could push through for the next general election and clearly that is not reflected in that polling data. so the question is what he will say in is this speech. of course we are expected that he will resign. not too long since we heard theresa may giving her resignation statement on this street just a few years ago. quite a teary emotional statement as she left office in the wake of brexit chaos. the prime minister thousand finding himself in his own chaos, multiple scandals, multiple political crises which have engulfed number 10.

will he address these, we're still waiting to see. and that of course will be quite interesting and of course extraordinary spectacle given the last couple of months at downing street. >> it is in-prunprecedented and historic. we get caught up in all the chaos, and we really should take stock and say that this prime minister has had a profound effect on the nightunited kingd the world. he really drove through brexit which has been so defining on this part of the world not just the united kingdom. but i want to get some clarity on some sort of reporting that we're seeing, some debate about whether or not boris johnson will be a caretaker prime minister or will be forced out straight away. let's bring in an associate fellow with chatham house.

you're steeped in parliamentary process, quentin. there is a lot of confusion about what happens here as we understand it, there is some sort of negotiation going on about the time table for boris johnson's departure. what does that even mean? >> well, what he appears to be saying is that they will not have a leader in place until the conservative party conference in october. so that is quite a long stretch to keep himself in office when he's actually clearly not got the confidence of his cabinet and fellow ministers. so it really looks quite difficult for him to hang on in there. but that is clearly what he wants to do. what one might expect is perhaps a caretaker like dominic robb to hold the fort because there are huge issues that need to be

decided on all the time. clearly the war in ukraine is one. but what about the northern ireland protocol? that was all blowing up and coming to a head. and what it really needs is a calm pair of hands who is not going to be stirring things up in the way that boris johnson has been doing and actually hold the fort until they have got a clear leadership decided. >> theresa may is a good option, isn't she? she's gained a bit since she was forced out. >> well, that would be a very interesting point. it would be a bittersweet revenge for theresa may. i still can't see boris johnson going quietly. this whole fantasy that we've heard of him sort of refusing to back off he is very much the par

for the course. he is the center of attention and that is what he is looking for. from that point of view actually, it is another boris triumph of. everybody is talking about johnson. >> tim, one thing that certainly defined boris johnson era is how he constantly keeps everyone on the back foot, they are constantly surprised by what he does. we know he will resign but how do you think that he will handle it, will he even take to the lectern as his predecessors have done? >> if you thinks a show man like boris johnson won't take advantage of that one last time, i think that you've got another thing coming. he clearly will do that i think. i think there is a question as

we've said about whether he can continue in post another three months. the prime minister has an awful lot of power. boris johnson is known to exercise that power and also in unconventional ways. i think that there would be quite a few cabinet ministers and members of the conservative party who would be anxious about what he could or would do during those two or three honesties. he will be thinking about all the money that he can make on the election circuit and all the books that he could write. and there would be a big audience for any book that talks about the incredible events of the last week or so. >> yeah, when we compare him to theresa may, he won't take that route, is he, hit the back benches and try to continue work from behind the scenes. this is someone that -- i think we're all assuming that he will actually leave politics and take a media came career, right?

>> interestingly of course that will almost certainly mean a bi-election and an interesting test of whether this transition to a new leader has made a difference. his constituency is quite vulnerable. and so not only might boris johnson end up resigning the premiereship but he could also cost his party another seat in parliament and i think that that would be a harbinger of things to come for the conservatives if that were to happen. they would be very worried about that. >> so just to clarify for everyone tuning in, boris johnson is finally going to resign. it came under -- came after, you know, face-to-face really with his cabinet. he didn't meet them all in one go yesterday, he met them one by

one. they said you needed to go. and after that, it was almost seen as inevitable, although nothing really inevitable with boris johnson. he is so unpredictable. but that is his front door. and we expect him to give a speech where he will announce that he will resign. what is not clear is when he will be going. because i think that everyone has agreed all the people we've spoken to this morning that this is the sort of prime minister that will want to stay on as long as possible, but that is a matter of negotiation actually with members, senior members of his party, who will try to figure that out. richard johnson is a lecturer, but let's speak to nina dos santos first. actually let's stick with richard because you are there and waiting for us so kindly.

it is chaos here as well as in downing street. richard, what do you expect boris johnson to say in the speech in downing street? is this a show mann. he didn't want to go. how he is going to spin it. >> it is clear that he doesn't feel that the -- he doesn't merit what has happened. but he couldn't fill his cabinet anymore and his closest advisors pushed him out at the very end. so i think that he will go back to big vision stuff. i don't think that he will be particularly contrite. might be an apology here or there. but i think that he will be talking about the boris johnson populist conservative brand that he championed and won the last election on and i think that that is the vision that he is going to try to -- try to speak

to, to say, look, this is going to be my legacy, i'll try to hand it on to someone else. but i think that he is not going under -- you know, he is not leaving happily or certainly circumstances of his choosing or in ones that he believes that he merits to be removed. >> nina, let's come to you on that legacy. you've covered british politics and also european politics. there is no doubt that he has a place in history simply because he was the front of that brexit campaign which has had a profound effect on the whole continent. >> reporter: that's right. and people across the continent have very much looked at boris johnson and on some occasions rolled their eyes particularly when it comes to reneging on various agreements that the government appeared to draft, sign in ink and then essentially shred and tear up. i'm thinking of the northern ireland protocol. and that issue is one that his

successor will have to get to grips with pretty soon, one of the thorniest issues to try to put brexit to bed. there will probably be many european capitals who will be glued to the television sets now thinking, look, what comes next. boris johnson was somebody who really likes to poke europe in the eye a little bit, didn't he, he liked to antagonize to keep the europeans on their toes. he of course famously threw his weight behind the brexit campaign and that is what energized. so that didn't gain him many friends in brussels if you like. and it is ironic because brussels is where he actually forged his political connections at first when he was a journalist. his family was also. and so this is a relationship

that has kept them on their toes. and the big question now, and many europeans say that the tory leadership contests play out in a very uncomfortable and public way for many european diplomats and leaders to see, the thing is what they will be looking for is somebody hopefully who they feel that when they make an agreement, that they won't tear until agreement after. because boris johnson has done that particularly with regards to some of the finalities of brexit. >> nina, thank you. let's go to downing street again. nada, you are in the thick of it there. we don't know who will take over from him. this is really about what he will say when he resigns. he does have a legacy to speak to. nina was talking about that there. he has also got the pandemic he can speak to, a huge amount of criticism early on in the pandemic. he acted too late according to

most people and most experts, but ultimately he did really step up, he led on the vaccine program, he moved on to the ukraine crisis and seen as a leader there. he is held up as a hero in ukraine. so do you think that he will bring those two elements as well into whatever he has to say today which will be about legacy? >> reporter: absolutely that will be the focus. we've seen the prime minister really taking charge on that covid effort. there were many criticisms around that, most recently of course he has played the statesman in the war in ukraine, supporting president zelenskyy on numerous occasions. but he also has faced heavy criticism the last few months. he may not touch on that, but certainly it will be in the minds of many conservative mps, opposition mps and of course members of the public. the british prime minister most recently directly implicated in the partygate scandal which saw

twists and turns, that scandal never put to bed. the prime minister denying the allegations at first and later revealed to have actually taken part in those social gatherings and parties himself. and so he faced heavy criticism, calls for him to resign also. but he did seem to weather the storm of the partygate scandal. and we've seen pretty historic local election losses for the conservative party over boris johnson's watch. most recently the bi-election losses for the conservative party. so many mps have questioned whether or not the reputation, integrity of the prime minister has perhaps tarnished their roles, their seats in their local constituencies. that has been a key concern of the mps. and we've heard reaction from a number of mps already to the decision to resign. of course it is not even 10:00 here and we've seen that snowballing effect of those resignations from the first

bombshell resignation announced tuesday by former chancellor and also health secretary. and most recently from the former justice secretary saying that boris johnson has bowed to the inevitable. conservative mps saying that he is glad boris johnson has finally recognized the damage he has done. and that is the central theme, continuous scandals and challenges that we've seen at number 10 have really placed a burden on tariff lawmakers who have had to bear the brunt. we've seen yesterday mps saying that they were forced to play the party line for media interviews despite the fact that it didn't stand up to truth and that they have bared the brunt of that at their local constituency level. they fear of course that the prime minister was bringing the conservative party down, perhaps hurting their chances for the next general election. this of course has all come to a head most recently over the

scandal with chris pincho, having known about the historic sexual abuse allegations before appointing him to the position of deputy chief whip. so this prime minister has been embroiled in challenge after challenge, despite the positive points that he might want to focus on as a back scene effort. as you mentioned the war in ukraine and getting brexit done, although we've seen recent challenges to that as well. the prime minister does have a lot of questions with the cost of living crisis. for many voters, that is perhaps at the forefront of their concerns, the fact that they are really struggling with the cost of living crisis. welfare system has quite frankly failed some of the most vulnerable people. so the prime minister does have a lot to answer for, but we are expecting him to focus on more the positive points from his legacy than those quite difficult and damning points.

>> cameras are positioning themselves for the statement that we expect to happen, we don't know when, could happen anytime, but i think the decision has been made boris johnson is going to resign. we're just learning really about the terms of that resignation. and that is what he will be debating with other members of his party. so once that is done, i'm sure we'll see boris johnson, he will be talking to his legacy. i just want to talk about something that the opposition leader is speaking to. that is the idea that change in leadership isn't enough, there needs to be a wider change and he is suggesting that there should be a general election as opposed to just an election for another leader and therefore prime minister quentin, what are your thoughts on that?

>> i think that they will resist that as much as possible, but having said that, the longer boris johnson stayed in office, the worse it was for the conservative party. and so the labour party was almost actually willing him to stay on i think. and really we have a situation with a very large majority in parliament but that he is at war with itself. and a huge number of alternative candidates will probably throw their hats in the ring for the succession. so whatever happens, they need somebody to unite the party again. whatever boris johnson's legacy has been has been a divisive influence and he has failed to unite the country and failed to unite his party.

>> just lost your sound there. the door is moving there at downing street. we're all a bit twitchy about who it will be. nina, everyone is talking about who could potentially replace him and this has always been his great defense, right? he hasn't had anyone there waiting in the wings, nudging him out. that is why he lasted so long arguably. and it is still an open field. but who are you looking at as potential successsuccessers? >> reporter: the issue here if you look at what happened at the end of margaret thatcher's time when eventually she had to go under similar circumstances and john major replaced her, the conservative party doesn't have a great eat history of compromi candidates.

and this is party locked by very divisive issues like brexit, the pandemic response, partygate and now in future it will have to deal with really persistent inflationary spikes. these are big issues that they need various candidates to manage to assuage all of these concerns among conservative voters and also members of their own party. and it doesn't appear to be one particular person who would, you know, fulfill all of those roles. if you look on the fringes, we've got for instance tom tugan who has a history as a journalist, a multilingual scholar, he's been in the army, but he hasn't -- and chair of the foreign affairs select committee, but he hasn't actually had any cabinet posting. so he could emerge certainly as somebody who could throw their hat into the ring but perhaps may not have enough government experience as yet. on the other side we have liz

truss who is the foreign secretary. again the question is will she be able to rally enough support. we know ritchey sunak of course about a month and a half ago had real scrutiny over his wife's tax affairs and that didn't look good particularly considering as he is the richest member of government at a time when of course he is having to stew arrested the economy to a precipitous plunge in living standards and that inflationary spike. zawahi as well might throw his hat into the ring. but he just like the former health secretary have long histories in the business world. so obviously their business interests will come under scrutiny. so it is not just the politics of the individual characters and the people that might rally around them that could count, but also the fact that this is a party that has been in power now for more than a decade, about three terms. what people essentially want to

see is some sense of vision, some sense of confidence and obviously after what many people regard the johnson era which is now coming toward an end, some sense of responsibility and focus. >> tha nina, thank you. and i'm joined now by lord hayward. can i ask you on nina's point, who are the runners and riders to replace boris johnson? it is not clear, is it? >> it is not clear. it is a strikingly broad field. there are those preparing their ground because politics is the way it is. and everybody thinks, well, i might be the next, but a lot of people do. but it is a very broad field. s sue ella through her hat into

the ring. >> people don't know her. >> people don't know her. but from jeremy hunt through the brexiteers and they obviously will include people like ritchey sunak. javic who is perceived moving at the right time or not depending whether you are a strong boris johnson person or -- >> very well-known to us, particularly well-known to you, but they don't resonate like boris johnson. this is one of the reasons that he lasted so long because he had that public appeal and that campaigning ability. so is that still something that everyone is very concerned about going into a potential general election frankly? >> i think a new prime minister whoever it may happen to be will have probably about a year and a half and therefore it is not the case of we need a name. whether tv, industry, commerce or politics, actually many people recruit somebody who is not like the previous chief

executive because that may be part of in many people's minds the job specification. and to be honest, there aren't many people like boris. his great asset was his personality previously, but it has been one of his biggest problems in the last week or so. >> and we're looking at the door of 10 downing street waiting as to hear what he has to say. you were in the 1922 committee. >> i was. >> sdlidescribe the atmosphere. it was pretty clear he wasn't going to resign last night. he was forced out this morning. so what conversation would have happened this morning in terms of time line? >> i think the mood for the tory party yesterday, the ball started rolling down the field ever faster yesterday morning. and there was a combination of febrile conversation going on all over the place. and the frustration that boris wouldn't go. and sadly i'm old enough that i saw almost exactly the same position in 1990 when mrs.

thatcher went. and you had to have in 1990 senior cabinet ministers talking to the prime minister one by one. >> and she left. >> that is the key difference. you're right. we all knew that mrs. thatcher having been told the truth by her closest allies would go. we've never thought that would be the case -- >> so that was the real shock after that cabinet grouping asked him to leave and his response was firing one of the cabinet members. >> absolutely. and that is the stark difference between those two personalities. very big personalities. but once was a disagreement on policy, the other one has been very much a disagreement on personality. >> so as we look at 10 downing street, what are yourare you ex from the speech from boris johnson? >> as i understand it, and boris is boris and things could change, he is going to say that

he will resign as leader of the conservative party, but he wants to stay on until there is a new leader. that is going to cause some difficulty because many of the ministers who have resigned have resigned because of the questions of integrity and decency. and there will be a fair amount of pressure, don't know whether it will be a compromise removed, but a fair amount of pressure to say no, dominic robb as deputy prime minister steps in. >> that is his role to step in. >> he did it during covid. and generally credited as having done it well. >> when comes out, he would have agreed with the chair of the 1922 committee what the time line is, so that would all be agreed by the time he comes out presumably. he can't do something -- well, i mean, he is very unpredictable character, but can he say i'll stay until october? >> that i think is part of his intention. he is saying that i will step

down but stay until he is replaced as leader. which could well be in september or october. >> let's just talk about legacy because whatever happens and when all of the mechanics of this have gotten in future, he definitely has a place in political history. what would you put at the top of the list, brexit? >> i think brexit top, but covid vaccinations next. and the ukraine as something which depending on how that evolves may well be seen as his greatest credit. >> because by leaving the european union, he was able to step in and offer the support to zelenskyy more quickly. >> absolutely. there is no question that that is perceived as one of hit successes up to now. covid on exactly the same basis. >> he was able to buy vaccines before other european countries. >> absolutely. developing the vaccines in this country and elsewhere, buying them in, buying them in large quantities, and therefore being

more free than many of the other european countries were. >> and if they get away with pushing for a general election, you are concerned because the conservatives have not come out of it as well? >> they haven't come out of it at all well. no doubt that the mood amongst tory mps, we do not want a general election, we'd be live individu livid if one were called. >> we'd lose our jobs. >> and not just that. you are there as an mp and on behalf of the associations. >> thank you so much. we'll cross to "early start" now and we're keeping an eye on that door. d life insurance on a fixed bududget, remember the three ps. what are the three ps? the three ps of life insurance on a fixed budget

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it is thursday, july 7, i'm christine romans. and we begin with breaking news from london. british prime minister boris johnson is expected to resign later today. a downing street spokesman telling cnn that the prime minister will make a