What will Boris Johnson do now?
It reads like a declaration of war – but in reality, Friday’s resignation statement matters because Boris Johnson is throwing in the towel on his political career.
Yes, there are hints of a third political comeback in his kinetic resignation statement.
“Never write him off,” say the pundits in the cheap seats.
Yes, there will be MPs bemoaning his departure if the Tories underwhelm at the next general election and calling for him to return. But he will not be there.
Johnson had a choice this week – and he could have chosen to remain.
That would have meant to stand and fight the verdict of the privileges committee, with all the opprobrium that he feels is unfairly heaped upon him.
Politics live: Boris Johnson quits
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Former PM Boris Johnson resigns
Then he would have had to watch as Tory MPs were asked to decide whether to back him.
Yes, some would. But despite the vocal minority of supporters, my conversations suggest that the raw numbers prepared to side with Boris Johnson against a Tory-dominated committee accusing him of deliberately misleading the Commons in pitiless detail may not have gone well for the former PM.
In the event he lost the vote and faced 10 or more days of suspension, he would also face the prospect of a by-election in his Uxbridge constituency.
Its 7,210 majority is well within the margin that could be swept away, which would be a decisively mortifying end to his political career.
Even if he won that vote, what would it be for?
There is no conceivable path to him becoming leader again.
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‘Johnson wasn’t good Uxbridge representative’
He would continue as he has since being slung out as PM – the ghost at the Tory feast, undermining Sunak and, should the Tories lose the next election, his successors.
Nobody has the ability to suck the oxygen out of the room like Johnson, with the media and a slice of the Conservative Party still hanging off his every word as if it mattered – that will not help current or future leadership contests.
So instead, Johnson opted to leave. It was the bold choice, but one in his self-interest.
This gives him a fighting chance of an exit on his own terms – taking aim at enemies inside and out of the Conservative party and to draft his own first version of history – all with the timing of his choosing and the spotlight firmly on what he wants people to see.
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Resignation statement in full
What led to former PM’s shock resignation?
It frees him to continue with massive earnings outside Westminster – now without the burden of declaring it in the Register of Members Interests.
And he will continue to comment on politics – perhaps he might return to a column in The Daily Telegraph?
Perhaps he might help buy The Daily Telegraph?
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All with the small but vocal hardline supporters suggesting his ousting the reason for the likely electoral difficulties faced by his successor.
There was no sign on Friday night that his departure had triggered a Tory civil war – allies like Priti Patel and Simon Clarke pensive but restrained.
No sign of more by-elections beyond the two already known.
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‘Boris brought this on himself’
Now he can concentrate on honing his legacy – yes the 2019 election, Brexit, vaccine and leading the world on Ukraine, but also upending the way politics works in this country. His method was unlikely to unite, but will never be forgotten.
He will never shun the limelight, his momentous decision was about making sure it shows his best side. That’s why, once more, on Friday he voted to leave: to preserve the myth, and not put it to test against reality.
Palestine Action can still challenge the decision to ban the group under anti-terror laws after the government lost an appeal.
The group was “proscribed” in July, making it illegal to show any support or affiliation for it, following incidents that included breaking in to an RAF base.
The Home Office appealed after a court granted the group’s co-founder a judicial review and said the ban disproportionately interfered with freedom of speech and assembly.
A woman is led away by police during Palestine Action protest on 6 September. Pic: PA
It said the government should also have consulted the group first.
Despite the ban, nearly 900 supporters were arrested at a single protest in London last month.
The judicial review of the ban was scheduled to begin on 25 November and Friday’s Court of Appeal decision means it can still go ahead.
Palestine Action called it a “landmark victory” and said co-founder Huda Ammori had also been granted permission to appeal on two further grounds.
Reacting after the court’s decision, Ms Ammori called the ban “absurdly authoritarian” and “one of the most extreme attacks on civil liberties in recent British history”.
She said 2,000 people had been arrested since it was outlawed and arresting “peaceful protesters” under the Terrorism Act was a misuse of resources.
The group’s vandalising of aircraft at Brize Norton in June – with two activists reportedly entering on electric scooters – prompted a security review of UK defence sites.
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Supporters of the group vandalised aircraft at RAF Brize Norton in June
Its supporters have carried out numerous protests in the UK, with many involving vandalism and violence.
Last year, it smashed windows and sprayed red paint on Barclays branches and this summer vandalised a Bristol defence technology firm, allegedly assaulting staff and police.
Multiple rallies for the group have taken place in London since July’s ban, with hundreds detained for showing support.
A protest at the start of this month saw another 492 people arrested despite calls for the event to be scrapped after the Manchester synagogue terror attack.
The King will become the first British monarch to pray publicly with the Pope since the Reformation 500 years ago during a state visit to the Holy See next week.
The King and Queen will meet the new pontiff Pope Leo XIV at the Apostolic Palace, his official residence, next Thursday during their trip to Vatican City.
In a highly significant moment in relations between the Catholic Church and Church of England, of which His Majesty is Supreme Governor, the King and Queen and the Pope will attend a special ecumenical service in the Sistine Chapel celebrating the ongoing work towards unity and cooperation among different Christian churches.
The decision for the King and Pope to pray together during the service will be the first time a monarch and the pontiff have joined together in this type of moment of reflection in the 500 years since the Reformation when, in 1534, King Henry VIII declared himself as head of the Church of England and broke from the papal authority of the Rome Catholic Church.
In another historic step, the King will be made “Royal Confrater” of the Abbey of St Paul’s Outside the Walls.
The abbot of the community and the archpriest of the basilica wished to confer the title and received the Pope’s approval to do so. To mark the occasion a special seat has been made decorated with the King’s coat of arms.
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King Charles pays tribute to Pope Francis
King and Queen meet Pope Francis at the Vatican
The King will use it during the service, after which it will remain in the apse of the basilica for future use by His Majesty and his heirs and successors.
English Kings had a particular link with The Papal Basilica of St Paul’s Outside the Walls until the Reformation. It is also known as the Papal Basilica where reconciliation, ecumenism and relationships across the Christian faith are celebrated.
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King to pray with Pope
A spokesperson for the Church of England said: “The royal confrater title, whilst it confers no duties or obligations on the King, and makes no changes whatsoever to the formal, constitutional and ecclesiastical position of His Majesty as the Supreme Governor of the Church of England, it is a tribute to his majesty and his own work over many decades to find common ground between faiths and to bring people together.”
The trip comes during the Catholic Church’s 2025 Jubilee year. Held traditionally every 25 years, “Pilgrims of Hope” is the theme of this jubilee.
The King and Queen met the late Pope Francis in April. Pic: Reuters
The visit will also reflect the joint commitment from both Pope Leo and the King to protect nature and their shared concern for the environment. The service at the Sistine Chapel will have the theme of “Care for Creation” and they will attend a meeting on sustainability.
A spokesperson from the Foreign Office said: “At a time of growing instability and conflict, the UK’s relationship with the Holy See is more important than ever. The Holy See is a key international actor.
“We work with the Holy See to promote human dignity, to promote peace and combat climate change… so His Majesty’s visit will strengthen the UK’s relationship with this crucial and influential global partner.”
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Only in 1961 did Queen Elizabeth II became the first British monarch since the Reformation to make an official visit to the Holy See.
In April of this year, a royal visit had to be cancelled due to the ill health of Pope Francis, but both the King and Queen did meet him privately while on a trip to Rome. It is understood Pope Leo and the King have been actively engaged in how this reorganised visit will look and the themes it will cover.
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