Timetable: Key moments from Boris Johnson's time in office

He told jubilant supporters: "We are once again going to believe in ourselves, and like some slumbering giant we are going to rise and ping off the guy ropes of self-doubt and negativity."

The next two and a bit years have been dominated by Brexit and Covid. 

Here are some of the key moments from his time in office. 

28 August 2019 - Prorogation of parliament

Mr Johnson urges the Queen to order Parliament to be prorogued by the Queen. The suspension is later ruled illegal in a unanimous judgment by 11 justices on the UK’s highest court. They said the “Prime Minister’s advice to Her Majesty was unlawful, void and of no effect. This means that the order in council to which it led was also unlawful, void and of no effect should be quashed.”

29 August 2019 - Ruth Davidson quits

Ruth Davidson quits as Scottish Tory leader, citing both Brexit and a desire to spend more time with her family. She has long been a critic of the Prime Minister, and backed his rival during the leadership bid. She is replaced, on an interim basis at first, by Jackson Carlaw. 

29 October 2019 - Early election

MPs unpick the Fixed Term Parliament Act and vote for an early general election. It is the fourth time in his short leadership that Mr Johnson asked the Commons to agree to a nationwide poll. He said a “new and revitalised” parliament was needed to take Britain out of the European Union. “We are left with no choice but to go to the country to break free from this impasse,” he told MPs. Mr Johnson comes under fire for avoiding scrutiny. Unlike other party leaders, he eschews interview opportunities, even notably hiding in a fridge. 

12 December 2019 - Tories take back control

The Tories are returned as the largest party winning an 80-seat majority, taking traditional so-called “red wall” Labour seats in the north of England. However, the party loses seven seats in Scotland.

31 January 2020 - Britain leaves the EU

Three and a half years after the referendum, the United Kingdom leaves the European Union and enters a transition period. Negotiations on the relationship between the UK and the bloc begin in earnest. 

11 March 2020 - Covid

The World Health Organization declares coronavirus a global pandemic.

23 March 2020 - Lockdown

Boris Johnson orders lockdown measures to curb the spread of coronavirus.

27 March 2020 - Boris Johnson catches covid

The Prime Minister self-isolates after testing positive for Covid-19. A week later he is admitted to St Thomas’ hospital in Westminster before being moved to intensive care. Dominic Raab is asked to deputise.

9 April 2020 - Intensive care

The Prime Minister is moved out of intensive care. He leaves hospital three days later saying his condition “could have gone either way”.He returns to work on 27 April. 

20 May 2020 - Bring Your Own Booze

No 10 staff were invited to “bring your own booze” to an event in the Downing Street garden. Mr Johnson has admitted he was there for 25 minutes but said he thought it was a “work event” to thank staff for their efforts during the pandemic.

19 June 2020 - Birthday Party

Boris Johnson turns 56. Carrie Symonds organised a surprise get-together in the Cabinet Room. The law at the time prohibited two or more people from different households from being indoors at the same time. The Prime Minister, Chancellor Rishi Sunak, and Ms Symonds were all given fixed penalty notices for attending the event. 

13 November 2020 - Abba Party

Eight days after a second national lockdown was introduced in England, Mr Johnson gives a leaving speech for Lee Cain, his departing director of communications. Ms Symonds hosted a party in the Downing Street flat to celebrate the departure of Dominic Cummings. The Prime Minister was seen heading up to the flat on the night in question, with the Mail On Sunday stating that Abba songs, including The Winner Takes It All, were heard coming from the residence.

8 December 2020 - Vaccine roll out

The vaccination programme begins to roll out in what was one of the biggest successes for Boris Johnson and his government. The UK soared ahead of every comparable country in take up.

17 December 2020 - Another leaving do

No 10 leaving do and Christmas parties which Mr Johnson attended “for a few minutes”.

21 December 2020 - Christmas cancelled

Christmas is ‘cancelled’ as case rates force the Prime Minister to roll back on promises to allow people to form “bubbles” with two other households over the holidays.

14 January 2021 - More drinks

More Downing Street leaving drinks which the Prime Minister attended. National restrictions had been reintroduced a week earlier. 

16 April 2021 - Duke of Edinburgh's funeral

There were two leaving dos in Downing Street on the eve of the Duke of Edinburgh’s funeral. The party went on until 4am. 

The Queen sat alone at the service in compliance with Covid rules at the time.

30 November 2021 - Partygate allegations emerge

The first allegations that Boris Johnson and Downing Street staff might have broken the government’s own Covid rules by holding parties and events during the 2020 Christmas holidays were reported by The Mirror.

8 December 2021 - Spokesperson resigns

Mr Johnson’s spokeswoman, Allegra Stratton, resigns after ITV shared a leaked video of her joking about a “fictional party” at a mock press conference. In parliament, Labour's Catherine West asks the Prime Minister whether there was a party in Downing Street on 13 November? He tells MPs: "No, but I am sure that whatever happened, the guidance was followed and the rules were followed at all times."

16 December 2021 - By-election loss

The Liberal Democrats gain Chesham and Amersham in the by-election sparked by the resignation of ex-minister Owen Paterson after he was found to have committed an “egregious” breach of lobbying rules. The standards watchdog had called for the MP to be suspended for a month, but Mr Johnson persuaded colleagues to, in effect, overturn the decision.

25 January 2022 - Police probe begins

The Metropolitan Police launched an official investigation into alleged Covid rule-breaking by lawmakers and officials, following a string of damaging revelations in the press and an internal government investigation conducted by top civil servant Sue Gray.

9 April 2022 - Ukraine visit

Boris Johnson visits Ukraine in a “show of solidarity” after Russia’s invasion at the end of February.

12 April 2022 - Prime Minister fined

Boris Johnson becomes the first sitting prime minister to be criminally sanctioned after the Met issued him with a £50 fixed penalty notice for attending a party for his birthday at No. 10. 

7 May 2022 - Local elections

The Tories suffered major losses at local elections, losing almost 500 seats and control of 11 councils in England and Scotland. The Prime Minister admitted it had been "tough" in some areas.

25 May 2022 - Sue Gray report published

Sue Gray's long-awaited report has been published into parties held in Downing Street during the pandemic. She says there were "failures of leadership and judgment in No 10 and the Cabinet Office" for which "the senior leadership at the centre, both political and official, must bear responsibility".

3 June 2022 - Johnson booed at Platinum Jubilee

Boris Johnson was booed by a crowd of onlookers who gathered outside St Paul’s Cathedral in London for the Platinum Jubilee Thanksgiving service.  On the BBC’s live coverage, presenter Jane Hill noted there was “a substantial amount” of booing for Johnson, unlike other attendees. “We definitely haven’t heard that for any other VIP guest, that’s fair to say,” she said. 

6 June 2022 - Vote of no confidence

At least 54 Tory MPs lose confidence in Boris Johnson's leadership, submitting letters to the 1922 committee chairman Sir Graham Brady, triggering a vote.