Boris Johnson To Stay On As A MP Despite Quitting As Tory Leader

Boris Johnson is the MP for Uxbridge and South Ruislip, which he holds with a majority of 7,210 votes.

Boris Johnson is to stay on as a MP despite resigning as Tory leader, HuffPost UK has learned.

There has been question mark over whether Johnson would continue as the MP for Uxbridge and South Ruislip following his dramatic resignation yesterday.

Pundits have speculated that Johnson would vacate his west London seat for a lucrative career writing books and making speeches.

When he was mayor of London Johnson earned £250,000 a week for writing a column in the Daily Telegraph – something he famously dismissed as “chicken feed”.

But a spokesperson for Johnson told HuffPost UK: “He is staying as an MP.”

It is not yet clear whether Johnson will contest Uxbridge and South Ruislip seat, which he holds with a majority of 7,210 votes, at the next general election.

In his resignation speech yesterday, Johnson confirmed that he would stay on as PM until the autumn to allow time for a new Tory leader to be elected by party members.

His position has angered a number of Tory MPs who want him to leave immediately and install a caretaker PM, such as his deputy Dominic Raab, until a new leader is confirmed.

Former Conservative prime minister Sir John Major also called on Johnson to vacate the post of prime minister, saying it would be “unwise” for him to remain while his successor is chosen.

In a letter to the Sir Graham Brady, the chairman of the backbench Tory 1922 committee, Major said Raab could be selected as an acting PM.

“The proposal for the prime minister to remain in office — for up to three months – having lost the support of his Cabinet, his government and his parliamentary party is unwise, and may be unsustainable,” he wrote.

“In such a circumstance the prime minister maintains the power of patronage and, of even greater concern, the power to make decisions which will affect the lives of those within all four nations of the United Kingdom and further afield.

“Some will argue that his new Cabinet will restrain him. I merely note that his previous Cabinet did not — or could not — do so.”

Johnson’s official spokesman confirmed today that he would not step aside to allow Raab to act as a caretaker PM.

He told reporters: “The prime minister is acting in line with convention.

“He remains prime minister until a new party leader is in place and the work of government will continue while that takes place”.