Resignations have followed into this morning following a mass exodus of the Conservative party last night (June 5).

At time of writing, resignations for this morning have been seen from Laura Trott, Will Quince and Robin Walker.

These resignations come as Boris Johnson has been forced into a humiliating apology over his handling of the Chris Pincher row after it emerged he had forgotten about being told of previous allegations of “inappropriate” conduct.

Mr Pincher quit as deputy chief whip last week following claims that he groped two men at a private members’ club, but Mr Johnson was told about allegations against him as far back as 2019.

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Boris Johnson admitted “it was a mistake” to give scandal-hit former deputy chief whip Chris Pincher his government role and said: “I apologise for it.”

As many call for Johnson to resign, what would happen in the UK if he actually did so?

What happens if a Prime Minister resigns in the UK?

The resignation process depends on different circumstances.

If a Prime Minister loses in a general election then they will offer their resignation to the monarch who will then invite the winning party to form a new government in their name.

However, if a Prime Minister resigns while their government is still in power, the process is different.

In this case, the government is still elected and therefore the resignation of the standing prime minister triggers a leadership contest, where fellow members of the government will campaign to be the leader of the party.

When the leadership contest is decided, the outgoing prime minister will go and offer their resignation to the Queen and advise that she appoints the new leader of the party as prime minister.

This new prime minister is not then required to hold a general election, but they often decide to soon after they take over.

This was seen when Theresa May resigned in 2018 and Tony Blair in 2007.