LONDON (AP) – He was the mayor who basked in the glory of hosting the 2012 London Olympics and the man who led the Conservatives to a landslide election victory on his mission to “get the Brexit”.
But Boris Johnson’s time as prime minister was marred by his handling of the coronavirus pandemic and a steady stream of ethics allegations, from booze-fueled government parties flouting 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 Henley constituency.
2008-2016: Acts as Mayor of London, overseeing the London 2012 Olympic Games.
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 resigns after voters approve Brexit 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 opposition to May’s strategy for a “soft” Brexit that would maintain close ties with the EU.
June 7, 2019: Theresa May resigns as leader of the Conservative Party after failing to persuade Parliament to back the Brexit deal she negotiated with the EU. The party is divided between those who support May and the hardliners, led by Johnson, who are willing to risk a no-deal Brexit to extract concessions from the EU.
23 July 2019: Johnson is elected leader of the Conservative Party in a vote of 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 insists Britain will leave the EU on October 31, with or without a deal.
August 28, 2019: Johnson announces he will shut down Parliament until mid-October, giving opponents less time to thwart a no-deal Brexit.
3 September 2019: Twenty-one rebel Conservative MPs back legislation requiring the government to seek an extension to Brexit negotiations if it is unable to negotiate a deal with the EU. The measure passes and the rebels are expelled from the party.
5 September 2019: Johnson says he would rather be “dead in a ditch” than ask for another EU extension.
24 September 2019: The UK Supreme Court rules that the government’s suspension of Parliament was unlawful.
October 19, 2019: Johnson asks the EU to delay Brexit again. New deadline set for January 31.
November 6, 2019: Parliament is dissolved and a snap election is scheduled for mid-December as Johnson seeks a mandate for his Brexit strategy.
12 December 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.
23 January 2020: The Brexit deal becomes law after being approved by the UK Parliament. The European Parliament approves the agreement six days later.
March 23, 2020: Johnson places UK in first lockdown due to COVID-19.
April 5, 2020: Johnson was hospitalized and later moved to intensive care with COVID-19. He is released from the hospital on April 12, thanking the nurses who sat with him all night to make sure he was still breathing.
November 3-4, 2021: The Johnson government tells Tory lawmakers to back a change in ethics rules to delay the suspension of Owen Paterson, a Johnson supporter who had been censured for breaking the rules of lobbying The measure passes. A day later, to a furious reaction from lawmakers of all parties, Johnson reverses course and allows lawmakers to vote on Paterson’s suspension. Paterson resigns.
November 30, 2021: Allegations surface that government officials attended parties at government offices in November and December 2020 in violation of the COVID-19 lockdown rules. The scandal grows to reports of more than a dozen matches. Johnson denies the allegations, but opposition leaders criticize the government for breaking the law as people across the country made sacrifices to fight the pandemic.
December 8, 2021: Johnson authorizes investigation into the scandal, dubbed “Partygate.” The pressure builds for a leadership challenge, but it fizzles out.
3 February 2022: Johnson’s long-time aide Munira Mirza leaves Downing Street, followed by three other top aides.
March 23: The government announces a mid-year spending plan that is criticized for doing too little to help people struggling with the rising cost of living. Then-Treasury chief Rishi Sunak refuses to delay a planned income tax hike or impose a windfall tax on oil and gas companies benefiting from rising oil prices. energy
April 9: Johnson meets Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy in Kiev, promising a new package of military and economic support. The move helps bolster Johnson and his supporters, who argue that the government should not focus on internal political disputes.
April 12: Johnson is fined £50 ($63) for attending one of the lockdown parties. Opposition parties characterize him as the first UK prime minister in history to be shown to have broken the law while in office. Johnson apologizes, but insists he didn’t know he was breaking the rules.
May 22: The findings of the ‘Partygate’ inquiry are published, detailing 16 meetings at Johnson’s home and office and other government offices between May 2020 and April 2021. The report details the excessive consumption of alcohol among some of Johnson’s staff, at a time when millions of people could not see friends and family.
May 26: The government reverses its tax decision on oil and gas companies and announces plans for a 25% windfall tax.
June 6: Johnson wins a vote of no confidence, and conservative lawmakers vote 211-148 to support him. But the scale of the revolt – 41% voted against him – is shaking his grip on power.
June 15: Christopher Geidt resigns as Johnson’s ethics adviser, accusing the Conservative government of planning to breach the rules of conduct.
June 24: Johnson’s Tories lose two old strongholds to opposition parties in special elections.
June 29: Parliament’s cross-party Privileges Committee issues a call for evidence to investigate whether Johnson misled Parliament about the lockout parties.
June 30: Chris Pincher resigns as Tory deputy director amid allegations he assaulted two guests at a private London club. There are previous allegations of sexual misconduct against Pincher. There are questions about whether Johnson knew about the claims when Pincher got the job.
July 5: Johnson apologizes for his handling of the Pincher scandal and says he had forgotten about the allegations. Two of Johnson’s most senior cabinet ministers, Sunak and Health Secretary Sajid Javid, left the government.
July 6: About 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 while the leadership contest is held.
November 2022: Johnson begins ramping up speaking engagements that take him around the world from India to Nigeria to Singapore to the United States. During the current parliamentary term, it reports 2.7 million pounds ($3.4 million) for interventions.
March 3, 2023: A UK parliamentary committee says evidence suggests Johnson repeatedly misled Parliament about his knowledge of deadlock-breaking parties in his Downing Street office.
March 22: Johnson insists “from the bottom of my heart” he never lied to lawmakers about rule-breaking government parties, mounting a strong defense in a hearing that could damage or even end his tumultuous political career.
9 June 2023: Johnson resigns his parliamentary seat after receiving a report on the plans to block.
