LONDON (AP) — Prime Minister Boris Johnson left his Downing Street office for the last time on Tuesday before heading to Scotland to formally offer his resignation so Liz Truss can succeed him.
The British leader, who announced his intention to step down two months ago, is expected to meet with Queen Elizabeth II in the late morning at her Balmoral estate to begin the transfer of power to Truss.
Truss, who was named leader of the ruling Conservative party on Monday, will be appointed prime minister during her own audience with the queen a short time later.
Speaking outside No. 10 Downing Street, Johnson said his policies had given Britain the economic strength to help people weather the energy crisis, and he called on the Conservatives to unite behind Truss during the “tough time” facing the country. Then he signed off with his typically colorful language.
“I am like one of those booster rockets that has fulfilled its function,” Johnson said. “I will now be gently re-entering the atmosphere and splashing down invisibly in some remote and obscure corner of the Pacific.’’
Johnson, 58, became prime minister three years ago after his predecessor, Theresa May, failed to deliver Britain’s departure from the European Union. Johnson later won an 80-seat majority in Parliament with the promise to “get Brexit done.”
But he was forced out of office by a series of scandals that culminated in the resignation of dozens of Cabinet secretaries and lower-level officials in early July. He alluded to that downfall in his leaving remarks, saying he was handing over the baton to Truss in “what has unexpectedly become a relay race.”
While many observers expect Johnson to attempt a political comeback, he offered Truss his backing and compared himself to Cincinnatus, the Roman dictator who relinquished power and returned to his farm to live in peace.
“Like Cincinnatus, I am returning to my plow,” he said. “And I will be offering this government nothing but the most fervent support.”
Johnson will formally step down shortly before noon when he meets Elizabeth at Balmoral, her summer retreat in Aberdeenshire.
This is the first time in the queen’s 70-year reign that the handover of power is taking place at Balmoral, rather than at Buckingham Palace in London. The ceremony was moved to Scotland to provide certainty about the schedule because the 96-year-old queen has experienced problems getting around that have forced palace officials to make decisions about her travel on a day-to-day basis.
Truss, 47, takes office a day after the Conservative Party’s 172,000 members elected her to lead their party.
On Tuesday afternoon, she is expected to make her first speech as leader of a nation of 67 million people who are anxious about soaring energy bills and a looming winter of recession and labor unrest. Those problems have festered for the past two months, because Johnson had no authority to make major policy decisions after announcing his plan to step down.
Speaking to Conservative party members on Monday, Truss promised to “deliver” on the economy, the energy crisis and the overstretched health care system, though she offered few specifics on her policies. On Sunday, Truss promised to unveil her plans for tackling the cost-of-living crisis within a week.
Bronwen Maddox, director of the international affairs think tank Chatham House, said Truss will have to say “an awful lot more” to reach the wider electorate.
“Everything, every road, comes back to cost of living at this point,” Maddox said. “And if she delivers, to use her word on that, then you might see the mood getting much more positive.”