Premiership of Boris Johnson (The More Things Changed)



The premiership of Boris Johnson began on July 13th, 2016, when he accepted Queen Elizabeth II's invitation to form a government. This followed the resignation of David Cameron, Johnson's predecessor as Prime Minister, who resigned in the aftermath of the European Union membership referendum.

Leadership Election
In a referendum held on June 23rd, 2016, the United Kingdom voted to withdraw from the European Union, with a result of 52% for withdrawal and 48% for remaining within the union. David Cameron, who as Prime Minister had campaigned to remain within the European Union, immediately following the announcement of the referendum results, that he would resign from his post.

Following the first stages of a Conservative Party leadership election, Former London Mayor Boris Johnson's only remaining competitor, Andrea Leadsom, withdrew from the race on 11 July 2016. Following this announcement, David Cameron said that he would step down from his post on 13 July, formally tendered his resignation to Queen Elizabeth II on that day, who subsequently appointed Johnson as his successor.

Turkish Civil War
Main Article: 2016 Turkish Civil War (The More Things Changed)

On July 15th, 2016, a coup d'état was attempted in Turkey against state institutions and President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan. The attempt was carried out by a faction within the Turkish Armed Forces that organized themselves as the Peace at Home Council.



At the time of the siege on Erdoğan's villa, approximately 10,000 foreign tourists were visiting Marmaris and the surrounding area. Over the course of the following days, Turkish government forces - working in conjunction with the British Royal Navy, the Hellenic Coast Guard, and the United States Air Force stationed in Incirlik Airport - evacuated the trapped tourists.

Johnson, who had taken office only two days before the onset of the conflict, received a mixed reception about his handling of the evacuations. Some praised his ability to remove all British nationals, while critics focused on early stumbles by the Prime Minister's team, leading to confusion among the tourists for proper evacuation procedures and slow response time.

First Overseas Trips
On July 20th, Johnson attended his first Prime Minister's Questions since taking office, then afterwards made his first overseas trip as Prime Minister, visiting Berlin for talks with German Chancellor Angela Merkel. During the visit, Johnson called for Britain to diverge from EU rules on medical research, financial services and environmental impact assessments. He also announced that in the wake of the referendum, Britain would relinquish the presidency of the Council of the European Union that the UK had been scheduled to hold in the second half of 2017.

Brexit
On February 6th, 2016, while still Mayor of London, Johnson wrote in The Telegraph of his support for Brexit, writing:

"'There is only one way to get the change we need, and that is to vote to go, because all EU history shows that they only really listen to a population when it says No. The fundamental problem remains: that they have an ideal that we do not share. They want to create a truly federal union, e pluribus unum, when most British people do not."

Johnson became one of the most high-profile leaders of the "Leave" campaign, giving it momentum and a sense of political legitimacy beyond the sole project of the far-right United Kingdom Independence Party (UKIP).

Ireland
Speaking to Sky News on February 28th, 2018, Johnson said:

"'What is going on at the moment is that the issue of the Northern Irish border is being used quite a lot politically to try and keep the UK in the customs union - effectively the single market - so we cannot really leave the EU. That is what is going on.'"

Zimbabwe
See Also: Zimbabwean Civil War (The More Things Changed)

In late November, Zimbabwe erupted into civil war, following President Grace Mugabe's decision to fire First Vice-President Emmerson Mnangagwa and top military leadership. Johnson has called China an "ally" in the struggle of the Zimbabwean people against Mugabe, whom he termed a "monster." Nevertheless, the Johnson government has not yet said if they would commit to any military intervention, supported by NATO or otherwise.