Boris Johnson endures his own lectern moment and starts new race for No 10

The Prime Minister quit as Tory leader after admitting he failed to persuade Cabinet colleagues that he could fight on.

Mr Johnson said it was “eccentric” to change governments at this stage but “I regret not to have been successful in those arguments”.

A new Tory leader will now be elected who will replace Mr Johnson in No 10.

“In politics, no one is remotely indispensable,” he acknowledged in a statement delivered in Downing Street, his staff and wife Carrie watching on.

“I want you to know how sad I am to be giving up the best job in the world, but them’s the breaks,” he said.

Mr Johnson intends to remain in No 10 until his successor is elected, but he faces resistance to that plan from within his own party and the Opposition.

He has already appointed new Cabinet ministers to replace MPs who quit as part of the mass ministerial exodus in protest at his leadership.

The Prime Minister said: “It is clearly now the will of the parliamentary Conservative Party that there should be a new leader of that party and therefore a new prime minister.

“And I’ve agreed with Sir Graham Brady, the chairman of our backbench MPs, that the process of choosing that new leader should begin now and the timetable will be announced next week.

“I’ve today appointed a Cabinet to serve, as I will, until a new leader is in place.”

But in a sign of the resentment he feels about being forced from office, less than three years after a landslide election win, Mr Johnson said: “In the last few days, I tried to persuade my colleagues that it would be eccentric to change governments when we’re delivering so much and when we have such a vast mandate and when we’re actually only a handful of points behind in the polls, even in mid-term after quite a few months of pretty relentless sledging and when the economic scene is so difficult domestically and internationally.

“I regret not to have been successful in those arguments and of course it’s painful not to be able to see through so many ideas and projects myself.

“But as we’ve seen, at Westminster the herd instinct is powerful, when the herd moves, it moves.”

The timetable for the leadership contest is expected to result in a successor being in place for the party’s conference in October, with Mr Johnson intending to stay in No 10 until the process is complete.

He said his successor’s priorities should include “cutting taxes because that is the way to generate the growth and the income we need to pay the great public services”.

“To that new leader, I say, whoever he or she may be, I say: ‘I will give you as much support as I can’.”

The 1922 Committee of backbench Conservative MPs will set the timetable next week for the contest.

To take part in the race, a Tory MP has to be nominated by eight colleagues.

If more than two MPs put themselves forward and secure enough nominations to run for leader, a series of secret ballots will be held to whittle them down.

The individual who receives the fewest number of votes will be eliminated after every round until two candidates remain.

When just two MPs are left in the race, party members get to make their final choice before a deadline set by the 1922 Committee.

The winner will become Conservative Party leader and PM.

Assuming the new leader was able to command the confidence of the House of Commons, they would not be required to call a general election.

However, a new leader could choose to call an election if they wanted to secure their own mandate.

Because the process could take several weeks and the Conservative Party still have a majority go the, the cabinet could nominate an interim PM before the party holds a proper leadership contest to choose a permanent successor to Mr Johnson.

Current Deputy PM Dominic Raab or new chancellor Nadhim Zahawi could be among those in the frame.

It has even been suggested that former PM Theresa May steps back in for a few weeks until the autumn.

In the meantime, the government must continue to operate.

Work and Pensions Secretary Therese Coffey has said she will remain in office to ensure the “wheels of government keep turning”.

In a statement on Twitter, after it was confirmed that Boris Johnson intends to resign, she said: “I asked to speak to the PM yesterday evening and had still hoped to do so today. I fully understand colleagues’ concerns and the very bad situation we are now in.

“The wheels of government need, though, to keep turning, especially at DWP which helps the most vulnerable in society.

“DWP needs to be firing on all cylinders to support them, especially with the cost-of-living payment beginning to be paid next week as part of our help for households.”

Labour continued a line of attack in which it has laid the blame on Conservative MPs for keeping Mr Johnson in power.

Labour leader Sir Keir Starmer said he would welcome an early general election and the chance to prove his party can be an alternative to the Tories.

He said: “It is good news for the country that Boris Johnson has resigned as Prime Minister.

“But it should have happened long ago.

“He was always unfit for office. He has been responsible for lies, scandal and fraud on an industrial scale.

“And all those who have been complicit should be utterly ashamed.

“The Tory party have inflicted chaos upon the country during the worst cost-of-living crisis in decades. And they cannot now pretend they are the ones to sort it out.

“They have been in power for 12 years. The damage they have done is profound. Twelve years of economic stagnation. Twelve years of declining public services. Twelve years of empty promises. Enough is enough. We don’t need to change the Tory at the top – we need a proper change of government. We need a fresh start for Britain.”

Liberal Democrat leader Sir Ed Davey has said that Boris Johnson should resign as Prime Minister today, with an interim leader put in place.

He said: “This Prime Minister has got no confidence in his own party, parliament and the British country. The Prime Minister has to go today.”