As he lost power in a dramatic 48-hour period that saw his party turn against him, the prime minister would have undergone a “loss process”, according to experts. The prime minister resigned on Thursday after a mass exodus from his government, but only after remaining in power long after his fate was sealed. Mr Johnson initially refused to accept that he would have to resign, even when many around him knew the writing was on the wall. Dr Catherine Huckle, a clinical psychologist at the University of Surrey, said she probably went through the five stages of grief – denial, anger, bargaining, depression and acceptance. “Relinquishing the role of Prime Minister essentially means losing the activity that supports the sense of identity and so a process of loss could be predicted,” she told the Telegraph. “Government turmoil … could have seen Boris move through the stages of grief before finally settling on acceptance on the morning of his resignation.”
The denial…
The Prime Minister showed signs of experiencing at least four stages of grief as he battled against a massive rebellion to oust him from No 10.
As events spiraled out of control, even those closest to Mr Johnson must have questioned whether he was denying the seriousness of the situation.
On Wednesday, hours after Rishi Sunak and Sajid Javid tendered their resignations, he insisted at PMQs that he will win the next general election.
Hours later he told MPs that “the governance of the country continues with ever-increasing vigour” as an avalanche of ministers resigned all around him.
