Guy Opperman, the U.K.’s longest-serving pensions minister, resigned Thursday amid a wave of top officials departing in the lead up to Prime Minister Boris Johnson stepping down.

In his resignation letter to Mr. Johnson, Mr. Opperman said that the U.K. government “simply cannot function with you in charge.”

“It should not take the resignation of 50 colleagues, but sadly the PM has left us no choice. He should resign,” Mr. Opperman said in the letter.

Mr. Opperman became parliamentary under secretary of state for pensions and financial inclusion within the Department for Work and Pensions in June 2017, and last month became the longest serving minister in the role.

In his resignation letter, he said he was proud of what the DWP had achieved, “growing workplace and state pensions to record levels” and passing the Pensions Scheme Act of 2021 “that dramatically reforms pensions in the U.K.” Among other changes, the act added reporting and governance rules for pension trustees, including addressing climate-related risk, and expanded the powers of the U.K. Pensions Regulator.

Steve Webb, former pensions minister and now a partner at consulting firm LCP, said in an emailed statement that under Mr. Opperman, the U.K. pension system “has benefited from five years of continuity after the ‘revolving door’ of pensions ministers which we have seen too often in the past. It is hoped that the next minister is also given time to get things done.”

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