Boris Johnson Resigns after two days of desperate attempts to cling to power and a spate of resignations. Johnson nay however remain as an Interim Prime Minister until the Conservative party finds his replacement.
UK’s Prime Minister Boris Johnson resigned on Thursday after mass resignations in his cabinet and protests from the Opposition and his own party, Reuters
Prime Minister Boris Johnson has resigned after desperate attempts to stay. On Tuesday Boris vowed to “ go on with the job” amid protests from dissident Conservative MPs and howls from the Labour opposition. Minutes later his Health Secretary Sajid Javid resigned in the House of Commons.
Then Chancellor Rishi Sunak announced his resignation. A day later Boris Johnson finally bowed to pressures Internal and external.
Victim of “Herd Mentality ” ,says Boris Johnson
“ It is now clearly the will of the parliamentary Conservative party that there should be a new leader and a new Prime Minister.
And I have agreed with Sir Graham Brady, the chairman of our Backbench MPs , that the process of choosing a new leader should begin now and the Time table will be announced next week,” he said jovially. “The reason I’ve fought so hard for the last few days…was not because I wanted to do so, but because I felt it was my duty, my obligation to you to do what we promised in 2019( Brexit).
It is painful not to be able to see through so many ideas and projects myself…the herd is powerful( at Westminster) and when it moves, nobody is politically indispensable,” he remarked.
Johnson has currently appointed an interim cabinet to serve until the new party leader is chosen. Johnson may however stay till October and this has miffled the opposition. Labour leader Sir Keir Starmer has called for Mr Johnson to immediately step down or he’d bring a vote of no confidence against him.
If that happens, every one in the House of Commons gets to vote against Johnson.
However, it is unlikely that the Tories will vote their government out like that. Meanwhile, ex-Prime Minister Sir John Major has advised “ it would be unwise for Johnson to stay for three months”.
What Led to Boris Johnson’s Resignation?
1.Chris Pincher Scandal
There is a litany of charges against Boris Johnson. The Prime Minister appointed Chris Pincher as the Conservative party deputy chief whip. Pincher had a previous record of sexual predatory behaviour. On 29th June, he went into a private members club in London, got drunk and groped two men. Soon 10 Downing Street said it wasn’t aware of Mr Pincher’s acts when it appointed him. Ministers repeated the lines said by Prime Minister’s Office and it later turned out untrue.
The BBC reported in July that Boris Johnson was well aware of a formal complaint. Soon Lord Mac Donald, a civil servant told that the PM had been given the complaint in person.
2.Partygate, Rise in Cost of Living and New Taxes
As if this wasn’t enough the London Metropolitan Police fined Mr. Johnson for breaking lockdown rules. He had admittedly gathered for his birthday in June 2020. He had even drank and partied in 10 Downing Street during the first wave of lockdown in UK.
As a result civil servant Sue Gray leaked dossiers of such events, known as Partygate scandal, to the press. The controversy gave a blow to Mr Johnson’s integrity. To add on injury, an ongoing economic slump, rise in fuel prices and cost of living plagued him.
The government decided to increase taxes. “ In the middle of the worst cost of living crisis for decades, the government chooses to increase taxes on working people”, Labour leader Sir Keir Starmer complained.
No Clear Idea on Brexit
After years of bickering over Brexit, even Boris Johnson failed to produce a working plan for a hard or a soft Brexit. His opponents argued that Mr Johnson lacked any philosophy. He was an out of control shopping trolley,veering from position to position, said Johnson’s ex-chief advisor Dominic Cummings. A by election defeat for the Conservatives too showed where things were going and Johnson has fallen. This is Conservative party’s third leadership crisis after David Cameron and Theresa May resigned post Brexit.
(Inputs, Times of India, the BBC)
