Boris Johnson’s resignation speech in full and the experts’ opinions.
First published: July 2022.
As Boris Johnson delivered his resignation speech in Downing Street on Thursday afternoon, a bunch of Tory MPs and Number 10 staff turned out to watch him talk to the nation. Meanwhile, crowds had gathered at the gates of Downing Street to sing, shout, and boo Boris Johnson.
🎥 'Bye bye Boris': crowds gather outside Downing Street to boo Boris Johnson as he makes his resignation speech
— i newspaper (@theipaper) July 7, 2022
Follow the latest updates: https://t.co/OVnE9fTOAB pic.twitter.com/c4fzpnkOZ6
The speech
“It is now clearly 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. And I’ve today appointed a cabinet to serve, as I will, until the new leader is in place.
“So I want to say to the millions of people who voted for us in 2019, many of them voting Conservative for the first time: ‘Thank you for that incredible mandate, the biggest Conservative majority since 1987, the biggest share of the vote since 1979.’
“And the reason I have fought so hard in the last few days to continue to deliver that mandate in person was not just because I wanted to do so, but because I felt it was my job, my duty, my obligation to you to continue to do what we promised in 2019.
“And of course, I’m immensely proud of the achievements of this government: from getting Brexit done to settling our relations with the continent for over half a century, reclaiming the power for this country to make its own laws in parliament, getting us all through the pandemic, delivering the fastest vaccine rollout in Europe, the fastest exit from lockdown, and in the last few months, leading the West in standing up to Putin’s aggression in Ukraine.
“And let me say now, to the people of Ukraine, that I know that we in the UK will continue to back your fight for freedom for as long as it takes.
“And at the same time, in this country, we’ve been pushing forward a vast programme of investment in infrastructure and skills and technology, the biggest in a century. Because if I have one insight into human beings, it is that genius and talent and enthusiasm and imagination are evenly distributed throughout the population but opportunity is not. And that’s why we must keep levelling up, keep unleashing the potential in every part of the United Kingdom. And if we could do that, in this country, we will be the most prosperous in Europe.
“And in the last few days, I’ve 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 midterm after quite a few months of pretty relentless sledging and when the economic scene is so difficult domestically and internationally.
“And 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 and when the herd moves, it moves. And my friends, in politics, no one is remotely indispensable, and our brilliant and Darwinian system will produce another leader, equally committed to taking this country forward through tough times, not just helping families to get through it but changing and improving the way we do things, cutting burdens on businesses and families and yes, cutting taxes, because that is the way to generate the growth and the income we need to pay for great public services.
“And to that new leader, I say wherever he or she may be, I say I will give you as much support as I can.
“And to you, the British public, I know that there will be many people who are relieved and perhaps quite a few who will also be disappointed. And I want you to know how sad I am to be giving up the best job in the world. But them’s the breaks.
“I want to thank Carrie and our children, all members of my family who have had to put up with so much, for so long. I want to thank the peerless British civil service for all the help and support that you have given our police, our emergency services, and of course, our fantastic NHS who at a critical moment helped to extend my own period in office, as well as our armed services and our agencies that are so admired around the world, and our indefatigable Conservative Party members and supporters whose selfless campaigning makes our democracy possible.
“I want to thank the wonderful staff here at Number 10 and of course Chequers, and our fantastic prop force detectives, the one group, by the way, who never leak.
“Above all, I want to thank you, the British public for the immense privilege that you have given me. And I want you to know that from now on, until the new prime minister is in place, your interests will be served and the government of the country will be carried on.
“Being Prime Minister is an education in itself. I’ve travelled to every part of the United Kingdom and in addition to the beauty of our natural world, I found so many people possessed of such boundless British originality and so willing to tackle old problems in new ways that I know that even if things can sometimes seem dark now, our future together is golden.
“Thank you all very much.”
Experts opinion
Here are some of the comments of political journalists, commentators, and bloggers on Boris Johnson’s speech:
this does not sound like a resignation speech in the slightest
— pez says up the workers (@periuspb) July 7, 2022
This is such a generic speech, really seems to have nothing to say
— Jon Stone (@joncstone) July 7, 2022
'When the herd moves, it moves,' says Johnson, hailing the 'brilliant Darwinian system' which has brought him down. He still loves the brutality of politics. 'Thems the breaks...'
— Tim Shipman (@ShippersUnbound) July 7, 2022
Wow. @BorisJohnson blames the herd instinct of the Conservative Party in Westminster for his demise. No attempt at self reflection for the problems and travails that have led to this
— Jon Sopel (@jonsopel) July 7, 2022
Not a single admission of having done anything wrong, or of having any regrets, in Boris Johnson's resignation statement, but he does take the time to blame Conservative MPs for their "eccentric" decision to remove him.
— Adam Bienkov (@AdamBienkov) July 7, 2022
Incredibly graceless statement.
Boris Johnson quits as he led - boasting, blathering & blaming everyone but himself. What a terrible final speech by a man who turned out to be a truly terrible Prime Minister.
— Piers Morgan (@piersmorgan) July 7, 2022
That was embodiment of Boris Johnson and his style. Defiant, bombastic. What there wasn't was what his critics wanted- humility, apology, or any sense of precariousness of his own position even for next months. Not sure at all the tone of that statement will have helped him.
— Lewis Goodall (@lewis_goodall) July 7, 2022
Boris Johnson said much in his resignation speech, but the one thing he wouldn't say is how long he will remain PM. That, it is therefore very clear, is very much in play and the last battle he will fight in power.
— Tom Newton Dunn (@tnewtondunn) July 7, 2022
not saying Boris Johnson hasn't taken his defenestration well, but he called it an "eccentric" decision and blamed it on a mindless "herd instinct" in Westminster
— Jim Pickard (@PickardJE) July 7, 2022
Well that was all very bright and breezy, not my fault, them’s the breaks, on we go, what’s for lunch?, knock out a column, herd gonna move if the herd gonna move, sunlit uplands, take back control, golden future, still Prime Minister stuff. . .
— Rob Burley (@RobBurl) July 7, 2022
B Johnson’s speech was revealing.. shows he’s still in denial…that his party acted without reason in wanting to remove him in spite of his mandate from 2019.
— steve richards (@steverichards14) July 7, 2022
Boris Johnson's resignation speech in full pic.twitter.com/EMDHZDSq3u
— TechnicallyRon (@TechnicallyRon) July 7, 2022
"This was not a great speech. Clearly he had not prepared anything ... It was a very subpar speech, it was not historic, it was not Churchillian, as he likes to compare himself to Churchill."
— The Recount (@therecount) July 7, 2022
— @amanpour, not a fan of UK PM Boris Johnson's resignation speech pic.twitter.com/JQ0GhHfVy2
Typically graceless speech in the end. Predictably. Filled with retaliatory jibes at those who took him down.
— Ian Dunt (@IanDunt) July 7, 2022
Listening to that, I suspect Johnson believes (or hopes) deep down that the new Tory leader will lose the next election and the party may yet come back to him again...
— Tom McTague (@TomMcTague) July 7, 2022
I've seen 4 PMs quit before Johnson & with each it was sad on a human level, whatever you personally felt about them. Brown & his little boys, walking out of no 10. May getting tearful. With Johnson: nada. Snide, lacking in grace & self awareness.
— gabyhinsliff (@gabyhinsliff) July 7, 2022
"Boris Johnson right until the last demonstrating levels of self-obsession that even in the crucible of politics are absolutely off the scale."
— LBC (@LBC) July 7, 2022
James O'Brien's instant reaction to Boris Johnson's resignation speech. @mrjamesob pic.twitter.com/7ckVU3QyK8
Johnson's resignation speech - not one scintilla of contrition, just a bragging list of arguable successes and blaming others for his predicament.
— Brian Moore (@brianmoore666) July 7, 2022
No change there then.
In his resignation speech, Johnson's claims about his successes exemplify his failures.
— Stephen Reicher (@ReicherStephen) July 7, 2022
He asserts that he got us through Covid.
Well, apart from the 10s of 1000s who didn't get through because he acted too slowly at the start, the problem is that we aren't through Covid yet... pic.twitter.com/WKwbgVoKWr
Political opinion
Senior government source messages: "That speech was a fucking disgrace."
— Noa Hoffman (@hoffman_noa) July 7, 2022
The PM has made the right decision.
— Liz Truss (@trussliz) July 7, 2022
The Government under Boris's leadership had many achievements - delivering Brexit, vaccines and backing Ukraine.
We need calmness and unity now and to keep governing while a new leader is found.
The departure of Boris Johnson opens a new page in relations with 🇬🇧 .
— Michel Barnier (@MichelBarnier) July 7, 2022
May it be more constructive, more respectful of commitments made, in particular regarding peace & stability in NI, and more friendly with partners in 🇪🇺.
Because there’s so much more to be done together.
A lot of Tory MPs riled after that Johnson resignation speech:
— Aubrey Allegretti (@breeallegretti) July 7, 2022
- “Revolting No humility, shots fired at the parliamentary party, just sums up we were right.”
- “Ridiculous. No self reflection at all.”
- “An absence of any affection for, or loyalty to, the Conservative party.”
Tory source: "It beggars belief that even after all the criticism Johnson has faced regarding integrity and probity, one of the reasons he is staying is to have his wedding party at Chequers. The Johnsons should do the decent thing and find a different venue."
— Pippa Crerar (@PippaCrerar) July 7, 2022
ALERT: President Putin's (@KremlinRussia_E) spokesman on Prime Minister (@BorisJohnson)'s resignation.
— BNN Newsroom (@BNNBreaking) July 7, 2022
"He doesn't like us, and we don't like him either." pic.twitter.com/7P10CjIDII

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— AUTHOR —
▫ PMP News reporting.
[PMP]