Boris Johnson is expected to announce his resignation later today but will continue as Prime Minister until the autumn.
The Prime Minister will announce today he will resign as Prime Minister and leader of the Conservative Party. The besieged leader has faced a mass revolt from cabinet ministers and back bench Tory MPs in recent days.
Last night Mr Johnson made a defiant last grab at power but the feeling is he will have no choice but to step down today after losing the support of his government and party. Among those telling him to go today include Nadhim Zahawi, the new Chancellor of the Exchequer.
READ MORE: Boris Johnson to stand down as Prime Minister today - live updates, news and reaction
Although the Prime Minister is expected to resign he will remain in office until the Conservative Party finds a new leader. This process will begin when Tory MPs put their names forward to become the next party leader kicking off an internal election.
Each candidate who puts themselves forward needs the support of at least eight MPs to make the selection. Once all the names are in the hat, a series of balloting takes place to whittle the candidates down to just two people.
When Theresa May resigned in 2019, 10 Tory MPs put themselves forward to be leader, with Mr Johnson and Jeremy Hunt, current Chair of the Health and Social Care Select Committee, making it to the final round.
In the first rounds of voting, Tory MPs vote on who they want to make it to the final round, but Conservative Party members choose who becomes party leader in the final round.
Members included in the ballot must have been members of the party for at least three months to take part. When former leader Theresa May resigned in 2019 10 Tory MPs put themselves forward to be leader.
Members who are included in the ballot must have been members of the party for at least three months to take part.
The previous contest in 2019 took about a month and a half to be fully concluded. The first rounds of voting took place over two weeks - and Mr Johnson and Mr Hunt campaigned for the final ballot for over a month. Mr Johnson eventually picked up around 66 percent of votes.
The Tory Party conference is due to be held in Birmingham in October and party MPs want to have a new leader in place by then to make a strong start heading into the next general election in 2024.
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