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Sheffield Labour MPs said Boris Johnson’s resignation was long overdue and called for a general election to take the country forward.

Boris Johnson resigned as leader of the Conservative party today following a series of government scandals.

However, he will not step down as prime minister immediately and will instead remain in post until autumn after a new leader has been chosen.

Boris resigns: Johnson cannot carry on as 'caretaker' prime minister, says Sheff...

Left to right: Louise Haigh, MP for Sheffield Heeley, Paul Blomfield, MP for Sheffield Central, and Gill Furniss, MP for Brightside and Hillsborough.

The announcement was made after 59 MPs – at the time of writing – resigned from government including Sajid Javid, former health and social care secretary, and Rishi Sunak, former chancellor.

How Sheffield MPs reacted

Paul Blomfield, MP for Sheffield Central, said: “Boris Johnson has been damaging trust in politics for too long so his departure was overdue. But the Tories knew he wasn’t fit to be prime minister when they elected him as their leader. They’ve propped him up as he’s lied his way through his premiership. We now need a completely fresh start with a general election.”

Gill Furniss, MP for Brightside and Hillsborough, also called for a change of government.

Britain's Prime Minister Boris Johnson makes a statement outside 10 Downing Street in central London on July 7, 2022. - Johnson quit as Conservative party leader, after three tumultuous years in charge marked by Brexit, Covid and mounting scandals. (Photo by JUSTIN TALLIS / AFP) (Photo by JUSTIN TALLIS/AFP via Getty Images)

She said: “Boris Johnson should have resigned long ago, he is and has always been unfit for office. The Conservatives kept him there and are complicit in a culture of lies, scandal and fraud. They cannot pretend to be the ones to sort it out. The country has had enough of this failed Tory Government, we don’t need a change of Tory leader, we need a proper change of Government.”

Talking about Mr Johnson’s decision to resign but carry on as ‘caretaker’ prime minister until autumn, Louise Haigh MP for Sheffield Heeley, said: “It is of course right that Boris Johnson has resigned as leader of the Conservatives, and he must immediately step down as prime minister.”

She added: “The change that is needed in the country, however, is much more fundamental.

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“People are suffering through a cost-of-living crisis that has been exacerbated and neglected because of the economic policies and incompetence of 12 years of Tory government.

“The Tories have got us in this mess but are incapable of getting us out of it. Britain needs a fresh start and a Labour government.”

Boris resigns: Sheffield Labour MPs call for general election following ‘overdue’ resignation