Boris Johnson resigned as Prime Minister and cleared the stage for a new Tory leader by the autumn.
In an address outside No10, the defeated PM said he was so “sad” to be forced out of the job he loves but conceded: “Them’s the breaks.”
He stated that he regrets not being successful in those arguments and of course, it’s painful not to be able to see through so many ideas and projects himself.
He said it had been an “immense privilege” to serve in the “best job in the world” but admitted that “no one is remotely indispensable”.
Two years and 348 days since he first entered No10 in 2019, the PM today called The Queen to tell her he planned to stand down.
In a packed Downing Street, thronged with supporters including Carrie and baby Romy, he thanked the millions who voted for him in a historic landslide.
Yet after a brutal Cabinet coup, he said: “In Westminster the herd instinct is powerful and when the herd moves, it moves.
“And my friends in politics, no one is remotely indispensable.”
He said he was “immensely proud of the achievements of this government” such as Brexit and the vaccine rollout.
And the PM confessed: “I want you to know how sad I am to be giving up the best job in the world. But them’s the breaks.”
He fired the starting gun on a Conservative leadership race that will be launched next week and bitterly fought throughout the summer after a timetable is set out next week.
But some Tory MPs demand Mr Johnson bow out now and make Dominic Raab a caretaker PM while a new leader is elected.
Mr Johnson’s government has imploded with 55 resignations and junior ministers refusing to fill the vacant jobs.
Sir Keir Starmer has promised to table a vote of no confidence if Mr Johnson does not leave immediately.