UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson is facing his biggest crisis yet after two senior cabinet ministers resigned on Tuesday.
Health Secretary Sajid Javid and Chancellor of the Exchequer Rishi Sunak stepped down after days of mounting pressure on Downing Street over its handling of allegations of sexual misconduct by a member of the government.
Johnson has weathered many storms during his time as Prime Minister, but this may be one crisis too many.
Here’s what you need to know.
HOW DID WE GET HERE?
The immediate cause of the crisis was the fallout from the resignation last Thursday of Deputy Chief Whip Chris Pincher, amid allegations that he groped two guests at a private dinner the night before.
What got Johnson into more serious trouble, however, were the contortions the Downing Street press indulged in when trying to explain why Pincher was in government at all.
Initially, when new reports emerged about Pincher’s historic behavior in light of his resignation, Downing Street denied the Prime Minister had any knowledge of the allegations relating to Pincher’s time as Foreign Secretary.
When it became clear that wasn’t going to happen, Johnson’s team said it was aware of the historic allegations, but they had been “resolved.”
When it became clear that one of the previously undisclosed charges against Pincher had been upheld, Johnson’s spokesman explained that “cleared” could mean it had been upheld.
Then on Tuesday morning, Simon Macdonald, a former senior civil servant at the Foreign Office, revealed that Johnson had been briefed personally on the outcome of the investigation into Pincher’s conduct, which sparked a wave of resignations later in the day.
WHAT HAPPENS NEXT?
Boris Johnson is still in control of his own destiny… for now.
Conservative Party rules dictate that if a leader wins a confidence vote, they are immune from a new challenge for 12 months. Johnson survived a confidence vote on June 6.
However, the current crisis is so deep that it is possible that the 1922 Committee of Conservative Members of Parliament will rewrite the rules to get rid of the Prime Minister.
The 1922 executive is expected to meet on Wednesday to set a date for elections to its commission. If a large enough number of anti-Johnson lawmakers are elected to the executive branch, then the chances of changing the rules increase dramatically.
By this point, the real question is how much public humiliation can the Prime Minister take?
More ministers are almost certain to resign, and opposition sources are talking about the prospect of defections.
WHAT HAPPENS IF JOHNSON RESIGNS?
In the United Kingdom, the resignation of a Prime Minister does not automatically lead to a general election.
If Johnson steps down, the Conservative Party will hold an internal election to elect a new leader, who will then become prime minister.
Johnson is likely to remain in office until a successor is chosen, as his predecessors Theresa May and David Cameron did when they resigned in May 2019 and June 2016 respectively.
Barring another resignation or snap election, the new Prime Minister will lead the UK until the next scheduled election in 2024.
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