Lame duck or leader? What Boris Johnson can do as 'caretaker' prime minister

Britain's Conservative leader could face crucial decisions this summer despite losing authority

A wax figure of Boris Johnson at Madame Tussauds in London. Reuters

There are growing fears in Whitehall that the UK could face a national emergency in which Boris Johnson’s caretaker government has to take key decisions.

The current British Prime Minister remains in charge of government, potentially facing crucial judgments, while the Conservative Party chooses a new leader.

That process may last until September, leaving three months in which Britain could face a national or international emergency that requires a rapid government response.

There is a Whitehall manual giving some guidelines for a caretaker government, although a substantial amount relies on convention and the British “good chap” constitutional model of “doing the right thing”.

Sir David Normington, the former civil service Home Office chief, said there would be issues over urgent decisions, particularly now that Mr Johnson has lost his authority.

“We are in slightly uncharted waters because there are no rules about a transition like this as there are only conventions,” he said.

A caretaker prime minister “should not be taking major decisions about future policy”, he told the BBC, but that could prove problematic given the war in Ukraine and a looming economic crisis.

“It's called a caretaker government, but in a national emergency it has to act and that's why you have to have a prime minister in office and you have to have a Cabinet reacting to the situation,” he said.

Cabinet Secretary Simon Case will have to act as a check on any rash decisions made during Boris Johnson's final weeks in power. PA

“There would be a rallying round and agreement about what action should be taken, but it is very difficult with a prime minister who is a caretaker and has lost authority.”

The government will push ahead with trying to force through deportations of asylum seekers to Rwanda, No 10 Downing Street said.

"This is a pre-agreed government policy," the prime minister's official spokesman said. "Convention doesn't prevent or preclude government from seeking to fulfil that policy and that would include defending cases in court as required."

It is possible flights taking asylum seekers to Rwanda could depart before a judicial review, the spokesman said.

On Friday, there were a number of additions to the new Cabinet, including Peter Bone who becomes the deputy leader of the Commons, while Andrew Griffith was appointed parliamentary under-secretary of state at the Department for International Trade.

There are two checks on Mr Johnson’s power, but both rely on convention rather than rule of law.

The Cabinet will act as a restraint on any rash actions, and with the recent appointment of respected figures such as Sir Robert Buckland and Greg Hands this may provide some comfort.

Another similar new appointee, the former Middle East minister James Cleverly, who is now Education Secretary, said that Mr Johnson had given assurances to his hastily assembled new Cabinet on Thursday that he would do nothing untoward.

“The prime minister made explicit references to Cabinet that we are not going to do anything that would tie the hands of our successors,” Mr Cleverly said. “We are not going to do anything that would be novel or a big change from the current set direction of travel.”

Boris Johnson and Simon Case at a gathering in the Cabinet Room in No 10 Downing Street on the Prime Minister's birthday in June 2020. PA

The Cabinet secretary Simon Case may also check any rash or untoward actions. However, given his current record in Downing Street, which included overseeing the illegal lockdown parties in which he was pictured with Mr Johnson, his authority has been undermined. Sir David described Mr Case's experience of working alongside the prime minister as akin to “being a bystander at a car crash”.

A comparison can be drawn between when an incumbent US president is defeated in elections held in early November, only to remain in the White House making decisions for the best part of another three months.

There were fears that Donald Trump would behave erratically after he was voted out in 2020, and that prediction was fulfilled with the storming of the US Capitol on January 6.

Those fears may well impel the 1922 Committee, which sets Conservative Party rules, to speed up the leadership contest so that it is completed rapidly, with a new prime minister and Cabinet in post before the end of the summer.

Boris Johnson's time as British Prime Minister — in pictures

Boris Johnson became UK prime minister in July 2019, left, and resigned three years later in July 2022, right. Here 'The National' looks back at his colourful time as leader of the country. Getty Images / Reuters

Boris Johnson reads a statement outside 10 Downing Street, formally resigning as Conservative Party leader. PA

Boris Johnson and his wife Carrie Johnson attend the National Service of Thanksgiving to celebrate the Platinum Jubilee of Queen Elizabeth at St Paul's Cathedral in June 2022. Getty Images

Boris Johnson addresses the media after surviving a confidence vote in his leadership, in June 2022. PA

Sir Graham Brady, chairman of the 1922 Committee of Tory backbenchers, announcing that Mr Johnson had survived a confidence vote in his leadership at the Houses of Parliament in June. PA

Mr Johnson chats with residents in a Diamond Jubilee-themed room as he makes a constituency visit to Sweetcroft care home in Uxbridge, in May 2022. Getty Images

Boris Johnson reads the findings of the Sue Gray report into gatherings on government premises while Covid-19 restrictions were in place, in his office in No 10, Downing Street in May 2022. Photo: Downing Street

An image of a gathering in the Cabinet Room in No 10, Downing Street in June 2020 on the prime minister's birthday was released alongside the Sue Gray report. Photo: Cabinet Office

Boris Johnson with a Mark 3 shoulder launch missile system at Thales weapons manufacturer during a visit to Northern Ireland for talks, in May 2022 in Belfast. Getty Images

Mr Johnson having a turban placed on his head at Gujarat Bio Technology University, during his two-day trip to India in April. Getty Images

Mr Johnson after apologising to MPs for the 'partygate' fine he had received, in the House of Commons in April. AFP

Mr Johnson and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy walking in central Kyiv, in April. AFP

Mr Johnson arrives for a media interview at the Emirates Palace hotel in Abu Dhabi, in March 2022. Getty Images

Mr Johnson speaks with officers as he makes a constituency visit to Uxbridge police station in December 2021. Getty Images

Mr Johnson observes an early morning Merseyside Police raid on a home in Liverpool as part of 'Operation Toxic' to infiltrate county lines drug dealings in December 2021. Getty Images

Boris Johnson during a visit to Westport Care Home in Stepney Green, ahead of unveiling his long-awaited plan to fix the social care system, in September 2021. Getty Images

Prince Charles looks on as Boris Johnson attempts to open his umbrella at the National Memorial Arboretum in Stafford, in July 2021. Getty Images

President of the European Council Charles Michel, US President Joe Biden, Japanese Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga, Mr Johnson and Italian PM Mario Draghi pose for the leaders' official photo during the G7 summit in Cornwall, in June 2021. Getty Images

Mr Johnson poses with his wife Carrie in the garden of No 10, Downing Street following their wedding at Westminster Cathedral, in May 2021. Getty Images

Mr Johnson visits Hartlepool after the Conservative Party candidate Jill Mortimer won the Hartlepool by-election in May 2021. Getty Images

Mr Johnson receives his first dose of the AstraZeneca vaccine at St. Thomas' Hospital in London, in March 2021. Getty Images

Mr Johnson smiles during a televised press conference at No 10, Downing Street in February 2021, as he announces a phased exit from the country's lockdown measures. Getty Images

Mr Johnson gives a thumbs-up gesture after signing the Brexit trade deal with the EU in No 10, Downing Street, in December 2020. Getty Images

Mr Johnson and European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen meet for a dinner to try to reach a breakthrough on a post-Brexit trade deal, in December 2020 in Brussels. Getty Images

Mr Johnson with a vial of the AstraZeneca Covid-19 candidate vaccine, known as AZD1222, at Wockhardt's pharmaceutical manufacturing facility, in November 2020, in Wrexham, Wales. Getty Images

Mr Johnson drills during his visit to Exeter College in September 2020. Getty Images

Mr Johnson holds crabs caught on the Carvela at Stromness Harbour in July 2020, during a visit to Scotland. Getty Images

Mr Johnson holds a painting of a ladybird during a visit to The Discovery School in West Malling, in July 2020. Getty Images

Mr Johnson and his fiancée Carrie Symonds applaud for key workers outside No 10, Downing Street, in May 2020. Getty Images

Boris Johnson appears on monitors for a meeting in London. The prime minister chaired the morning update meeting remotely as he was self-isolating after testing positive for Covid-19. Reuters

Boris Johnson makes a televised address to the nation from inside No 10, Downing Street, with the latest instructions to stay at home to help contain the Covid-19 pandemic, in March 2020. AFP

Mr Johnson attends the launch of the UK-hosted COP26 Summit at the Science Museum in London, in February 2020. Getty Images

Mr Johnson is greeted by staff at No 10, Downing Street, after meeting Queen Elizabeth II and accepting her invitation to form a new government in December 2019. PA

Mr Johnson and his partner Carrie enter Downing Street as the Conservatives celebrate a sweeping election victory in December 2019. Getty Images

Mr Johnson drives a digger with the words 'Get Brexit Done' inside the digger bucket through a fake wall emblazoned with the word 'GRIDLOCK', during a general election campaign event in December 2019. Getty Images

Mr Johnson eats pie on the campaign bus in Derby, on the final day of campaigning before the general election in December 2019. Getty Images

Mr Johnson takes a turn in goal during the warm up before a girls' football match between Hazel Grove United JFC and Poynton Juniors in December 2019. Getty Images

Mr Johnson poses with workers as he is given a tour of Wilton Engineering Services as part of an election campaign trail stop in November 2019, in Middlesbrough. Getty Images

Mr Johnson poses for a photo wearing boxing gloves during a stop on his general election campaign trail in Manchester, in November 2019. Getty Images

Mr Johnson eats a rock sweet which reads 'Back Boris' during a general election campaign trail stop in Blackpool, in November 2019. Getty Images

Mr Johnson leads a bull around a pen as he visits Darnford Farm near Aberdeen, Scotland, in September 2019. Getty Images

Former US president Donald Trump and Mr Johnson arrive for a bilateral meeting during the G7 summit in August 2019, in Biarritz, France. Getty Images

Queen Elizabeth welcomes Mr Johnson as the newly elected leader of the Conservative party and invites him to become prime minister and form a new government, at Buckingham Palace in July 2019. Getty Images