British Prime Minister Boris Johnson on Thursday, 7 July, resigned as the leader of the Conservative Party, saying, "I want to tell you how sorry I am to be giving up the best job in the world but them's the break."
He added that he will continue to serve until a new leader is in place.
Shortly before resigning, the leader appointed a full replacement Cabinet, with James Cleverly's appointment as the new Education Secretary being among the latest.
Johnson's resignation has triggered a leadership election for a new Tory leader who will go on to become the new prime minister.
Here are four important things he said.
On Selecting the New Tory Leader
Firstly, Johnson said that the process for a new leader will begin.
"It is clearly now the will of the parliamentary Conservative Party that there should be a new leader. The process of choosing that new leader should begin now."
He added that by Monday, a timetable for his departure, and a successor should be finalise by the committee of senior Conservative lawmakers. He also said that he will extend all the support he can to the new leader.
He Highlighted What He Claimed Were His Achievements
The prime minister said that he was proud of his achievements, including:
Getting Brexit done
Getting the country through the pandemic
Leading the West in response to the Russian invasion of Ukraine
He Still Thinks That a Change in Government Is a Bad Idea
In his speech, he claimed that he tried to persuade his colleagues that it would be "eccentric" to change the government.
The argument behind this was the mandate, the 80-seat majority, that the Tories had won during the 2019 general election.
Johnson Offers Thanks
To conclude the speech, he thanked his wife, his children, the National Health Service , armed forces, and the staff at Downing Street.
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