Boris Johnson fighting to stay as PM as more top ministers quit

Boris Johnson is fighting to keep his job after coming under pressure from his own MPs - many of whom have resigned from his government.

Two of Boris Johnson's more senior ministers quit their jobs in protest on Tuesday evening and that led to lots more resignations from other Conservative MPs in important positions throughout the day on Wednesday.

More than 50 people have now resigned from roles in the government and, on Thursday morning, the Secretary for Northern Ireland and Education Secretary Michelle Donelan - who was only appointed on Tuesday - have become the latest members of Mr Johnson's top team to leave.

While Mr Johnson has rejected any calls for him to quit, many people are wondering whether these resignations will eventually force him out of his job.

Read our guide to find out why people are resigning and what it means for Boris Johnson...

Why is this happening ?

Health Secretary Sajid Javid and Chancellor of the Exchequer Rishi Sunak have quit their jobs in protest

Rishi Sunak and Sajid Javid held two very important positions in Boris Johnson's cabinet. Rishi Sunak was in charge of the UK's money, and Sajid Javid was in charge of the NHS in England.

So by quitting their jobs, they are telling British voters and members of their own party that they no longer support the prime minister or his actions.

Their shock resignations were a response to revelations that a man called Chris Pincher was given a very senior role in the Conservative Party, even though Mr Johnson was aware that Mr Pincher had been found guilty of inappropriate behaviour towards a colleague.

Previously, Mr Johnson's office - known as No. 10 - had denied that he knew of Mr Pincher's behaviour.

But a former senior civil servant has since revealed that Mr Johnson was aware of the inappropriate behaviour and gave Mr Pincher a job anyway.

On Tuesday evening, Mr Johnson apologised for the decision to give Mr Pincher a job, calling it a "bad mistake".

But it was already too late for the prime minister, with Mr Sunak and Mr Javid resigning just minutes after his apology.

Sajid Javid wrote to the prime minister telling him of his decision to quit, saying he could "no longer, in good conscience, continue serving in this government".

What happened next?

Nadhim Zahawi and Steve Barclay were quickly appointed by Mr Johnson to fill the jobs that Mr Sunak and Mr Javid had resigned from

The prime minister acted quickly to replace Mr Sunak and Mr Javid but them deciding to leave has led to many more resignations.

A significant number of other Conservative politicians have also left in protest, including senior Conservatives Welsh Secretary Simon Hart, Northern Ireland Secretary Brandon Lewis and Education Secretary Michelle Donelan - who has only just been appointed.

However, other senior ministers have come out in support for Mr Johnson. Deputy Prime Minister Dominic Raab and Foreign Secretary Liz Truss have all voiced their support for Mr Johnson.

One of the prime ministers most senior politicians was fired late Wednesday evening for telling Mr Johnson to quit

Since Tuesday evening, dozens of people have resigned - and Wednesday ended with the sudden firing of one of the PM's top ministers, Michael Gove, who had reportedly told Mr Johnson it was time to go.

A spokesperson from No. 10 accused Mr Gove of not being a true supporter of Mr Johnson and called him a "snake".

Why is this a problem for the prime minister?

Since his appointment as prime minister in 2019, Mr Johnson and his Conservative Party have been making headlines, but not always for the right reasons.

Last year it was revealed that parties were held in the prime minister's office, Downing Street, during the coronavirus pandemic, when social distancing rules were in place saying you couldn't have lots of people from different households together indoors.

And previous to this Mr Johnson was in trouble for spending £90,000 to refurbish the Downing Street flat where he lives with his family - though he was later cleared of any wrong-doing.

Across the country, prices of many things are going up, which many people are finding difficult.

The Conservatives lost seats in June's by-elections - which some say is a sign that the party's popularity with British voters is going down.

But his supporters say Mr Johnson has done many good things, pointing to vaccines being made available to help combat the spread of coronavirus, and his actions to support Ukraine.

Lots of people are also happy that the prime minister helped to negotiate the UK's exit from the European Union, also known as Brexit.

And the prime minister won a vote of confidence in June, showing that the majority of his party did support him at that time.

This protects him against another vote of confidence for twelve months - unless the rules are changed.

What has the reaction been?

Senior Conservative ministers Jacob Rees-Mogg and Nadine Dorries have backed Boris Johnson

Reactions within Mr Johnson's own party - the Conservatives - have been mixed.

Some senior ministers and members of parliament are backing Mr Johnson.

Culture Secretary Nadine Dorries shared her support for the prime minister on social media saying he "consistently gets all the big decisions right".

And another senior minister, Jacob Rees-Mogg, said he is "fully supporting" Mr Johnson.

'Better standards'

Even some of the prime minister's most loyal ministers are telling him it's time to go

On Wednesday, the former Health Secretary Sajid Javid stood up in Parliament to say that "treading the tightrope between loyalty and integrity" has become increasingly difficult.

"It's not fair on Conservative voters who expect better standards," he continued.

"I have concluded that the problem starts at the top and that's not going to change."

Opposition leaders Keir Starmer and Nicola Sturgeon have called for the prime minister to quit

Opposition parties have also been calling for Mr Johnson to quit.

Labour leader Sir Keir Starmer said that the Conservative government is "collapsing".

At Prime Minister's Questions in Parliament on Wednesday he called for an apology from the prime minister and accused him of accepting "awful behaviour" from his colleagues.

And Scottish First Minister and SNP leader Nicola Sturgeon called Mr Johnson's government "a rotten lot".

Whereas Liberal Democrat leader Sir Ed Davey said that the Conservatives have a "patriotic duty" to force the prime minister to resign.

What's next for Boris Johnson and his party?

Mr Johnson received lots of tough questions and challenges from both the opposition and some members of his own party throughout Wednesday.

There have been calls for the PM to face another vote of confidence - where MPs vote to say whether they back the prime minister or not.

Mr Johnson already won one of these earlier this year and rules would need to be changed for him to face another.

On Wednesday, the 1922 Committee - the people who could change the rules - said they would not make a decision on this until next week.

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But Mr Johnson has a very tricky few days ahead of him - filling several dozen roles that are now sitting empty thanks to resignations.

At some point there might be too many resignations for the prime minister to be able to keep his government going.

But it is still too difficult to say whether Mr Johnson will stay or go, although more calls for him to resign from Conservative politicians are expected.