LONDON: He was the mayor who reveled in the glory of hosting the 2012 London Olympics, and the man who led the Conservatives to a huge election victory on the back of their mission to “get Brexit done”. But Boris Johnson’s time as prime minister was marred by a steady stream of ethics allegations over his handling of the coronavirus pandemic and from alcohol-fuelled government parties that flouted lockdown rules.
Here is a timeline of events related to Johnson’s political career:
2001–2008: Served as Member of Parliament in the House of Commons representing the constituency of Henley.
2008–2016: Served as Mayor of London, overseeing the 2012 London Olympics.
2016: Co-leader of the campaign to take Britain out of the European Union, in opposition to then-prime minister David Cameron, a fellow Conservative. Cameron resigned after Brexit was approved by voters in a national referendum on 23 June 2016.
2016–2018: Serves as Foreign Secretary under Cameron’s successor, Prime Minister Theresa May. Johnson resigned in July 2018 in protest of May’s strategy for a “soft” Brexit, which would have maintained a closer relationship with the EU.
June 7, 2019: Theresa May resigns as leader of the Conservative Party after she failed to persuade Parliament to back the Brexit deal she negotiated with the European Union. The party is divided between those who support May and hard-liners, led by Johnson, who are willing to risk a no-deal Brexit to secure concessions from the EU.
July 23, 2019: Johnson is elected leader of the Conservative Party in a vote by party members. He takes office as Prime Minister the next day, inheriting a minority government that relies on the votes of the Democratic Unionist Party of Northern Ireland to pass legislation. Johnson insisted Britain would leave the EU on October 31, with or without a deal.
August 28, 2019: Johnson announces he will prorogue Parliament until mid-October, giving opponents less time to thwart a no-deal Brexit.
September 3, 2019: Twenty-one rebel Conservative Party MPs support legislation that requires the government to seek an extension of Brexit talks if it cannot negotiate a deal with the EU. The measure is passed and the rebels are expelled from the party.
September 5, 2019: Johnson insists he would prefer to “die in a ditch” than ask the EU for another extension.
September 24, 2019: The Supreme Court of Britain called the suspension of Parliament by the government illegal.
October 19, 2019: Johnson asks the EU to delay Brexit again. The new deadline has been set for January 31.
November 6, 2019: Parliament is dissolved and early elections are set for mid-December as Johnson seeks a mandate for his Brexit strategy.
December 12, 2019: Johnson wins an 80-seat majority in the general election, giving him the backing to push through Brexit legislation. The victory makes Johnson the most electorally successful Conservative leader since Margaret Thatcher.
January 23, 2020: The Brexit deal becomes law after the UK Parliament approves it. The European Parliament approved the agreement six days later.
March 23, 2020: Johnson puts the UK into the first lockdown due to COVID-19.
April 5, 2020: Johnson was hospitalized and later moved to intensive care with COVID-19. He was released from the hospital on April 12, thanks to the nurses who stayed with him through the night to make sure he was breathing.
November 3-4, 2021: Johnson’s government orders Conservative MPs to support changes to ethics rules to delay the suspension of Owen Paterson, a Johnson supporter who was reprimanded for breaching lobbying rules. The measure passes. A day later, facing an angry reaction from MPs of all parties, Johnson reverses course and allows MPs to vote on Paterson’s suspension. Patterson resigned.
November 30, 2021: Allegations surfaced that government officials attended parties in government offices during November and December 2020 and violated COVID-19 lockdown rules. The scam grows into reports of more than a dozen parties. Johnson denies the allegations, but opposition leaders criticize the government for breaking the law as people across the country have made sacrifices to combat the pandemic.
December 8, 2021: Johnson authorizes an investigation into the scandal dubbed “Partygate”. Presses for a leadership challenge, but fails.
February 3, 2022: Johnson’s longtime aide Munira Mirza leaves Downing Street, followed by three other top aides.
March 23: The government announces a mid-year spending plan that has been criticized as doing little to help those struggling with rising costs of living. Then-Treasury chief Rishi Sunak ruled out delaying plans to increase income tax or impose a windfall tax on oil and gas companies benefiting from rising energy prices.
April 9: Johnson meets with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky in Kiev, pledging a new package of military and economic aid. The move helps bolster Johnson and his supporters, who argue the government should not meddle in domestic political squabbling.
12 April: Johnson was fined 50 pounds ($63) for attending one of the lockdown parties. Opposition parties characterize him as the first UK prime minister in history to have broken the law while in office. Johnson apologizes but insists he didn’t know he was breaking the rules.
22 May: The findings of the “Partygate” inquiry are published, detailing 16 gatherings at Johnson’s home and office and other government offices between May 2020 and April 2021. The report details excessive drinking among some Johnson employees, at a time when millions of people were unable to see friends and family.
May 26: The government reverses its decision to tax oil and gas companies and announces plans for a 25% windfall profit levy.
6 June: Johnson narrowly wins a no-confidence vote, with Conservative MPs voting 211–148 to support him. But the scale of the rebellion – some 41% voted against him – shook his grip on power.
15 June: Christopher Geidt resigns as ethics adviser to Johnson, accusing the Conservative government of planning to flout conduct rules.
June 24: Johnson’s Conservative Party loses two former strongholds to the opposition parties in special elections.
29 June: Parliament’s cross-party Privileges Committee asks for evidence to investigate whether Johnson misled Parliament over lockdown parties.
30 June: Chris Pincher resigns as Conservative Deputy Chief Whip amid allegations he assaulted two guests at a private members’ club in London. Allegations of past sexual misconduct have surfaced about Pincher. Questions arose about whether or not Johnson was aware of the claims when Pincher was given the job.
July 5: Johnson apologizes for his handling of the Pincher scandal, saying he had forgotten to be told about the allegations. Sunak and Health Secretary Sajid Javid, two of Johnson’s most senior cabinet ministers, left the government.
6 July: Some three dozen junior ministers resign from the government, attacking Johnson’s leadership.
July 7: Johnson resigns as leader of the Conservative Party, but plans to stay on as prime minister until a leadership contest is held.
November 2022: Johnson begins pursuing speaking engagements that take him around the world from India to Nigeria, Singapore and the United States. During the current parliamentary term, he has made a reported £2.7 million ($3.4 million) for speaking engagements.
March 3, 2023: A UK parliamentary committee says evidence suggests Johnson repeatedly misled parliament about his knowledge of lockdown-breaking parties in his Downing Street office.
March 22: Johnson insists in a “hand to heart” that he never lied to MPs about government parties breaking the rules, mounting a strong defense in a hearing that could damage or end his political career Can do.
June 9, 2023: Johnson resigns his parliamentary seat following reports of lockdown plans.