Two senior ministers resign, weakening Boris Johnson’s hold on office
"WHEN BORIS JOHNSON survived a vote of no confidence among Conservative MPs just under a month ago, he laid on the superlatives. More than 40% of his colleagues had voted to remove him as their leader and hence as Britain’s prime minister. Yet he called the result “extremely good, positive, conclusive, decisive”. Mr Johnson may have felt safe—and party rules say he cannot be challenged again for a year—but murmurs of rebellion continued nonetheless. Now, after the resignations of two senior ministers, Mr Johnson’s hold on his job looks as tenuous as ever.
On July 5th Rishi Sunak, the chancellor of the exchequer, or finance minister—the most powerful job bar the top one—and Sajid Javid, the health secretary, departed within minutes of each other. Several junior figures followed, among them Alex Chalk, the solicitor-general, and Bim Afolami, a vice-chair of the party, who in almost satirical spirit quit during an interview on TalkTV, a little-watched political television channel.
Mr Johnson quickly replaced Mr Sunak with Nadhim Zahawi, the education secretary, and Mr Javid with Steve Barclay, a peripatetic loyalist who in his previous post was the prime minister’s chief of staff. Even so, few prime ministers would survive such a double blow, especially after the battering Mr Johnson has taken in recent months. How long he will be in office, no one knows. But his authority is chronically weakened.
Boris Johnson departs 10 Downing Street ahead of PMQs, on July 6.
Johnson Warns Tory Rebels Planning Fresh Challenge He’s Staying
- Premier says he has ‘colossal mandate’ and will continue
- Tory MPs plot to change rules to allow fresh confidence vote
Boris Johnson made clear he’ll contest any new attempt by rebels in his ruling Conservative Party to oust him, ahead of a meeting later on Wednesday where rank-and-file Tories will discuss holding a fresh confidence vote on the UK prime minister’s leadership
His latest troubles began on June 30th, when the Sun reported the sudden resignation of Chris Pincher, the Tories’ deputy chief whip—an enforcer of party discipline. He confessed to “having drunk far too much” and “embarrassed myself”, after accusations that he had groped two men at a Conservative club. Asked whether Mr Johnson knew of any concerns about Mr Pincher’s behaviour when appointing him in February, a Downing Street spokesman said no. That was later modified: the prime minister knew of no “specific” allegations.
After the Sunday papers reported more claims of groping (denied by Mr Pincher), Downing Street said that Mr Johnson had in fact been aware of some allegations, but these had been “resolved” or had led nowhere. Only on July 5th—after the official account had been flatly contradicted by a former senior civil servant—did Mr Johnson admit that he had been told, in person, about a claim against Mr Pincher in 2019, when Mr Johnson was foreign secretary and Mr Pincher a junior minister in the Foreign Office. In hindsight, the prime minister said, he “bitterly regretted” having given Mr Pincher the whip’s job.
For Messrs Javid and Sunak, that was apparently the last straw, even if neither mentioned the Pincher affair in their resignation letters. “The tone you set as a leader, and the values you represent, reflect on your colleagues, your party and ultimately the country,” Mr Javid wrote. Mr Sunak was similarly stinging: “[T]he public rightly expect government to be conducted properly, competently and seriously.” Mr Sunak also hinted at differences over fiscal policy. . .
Lack of candour, even about a tawdry sexual scandal, should not by itself prompt the resignations of uninvolved senior ministers, let alone endanger a prime minister. But the events of the past week are just the latest to tarnish Mr Johnson’s three-year tenure. The most dangerous to his hold on office, until now, was “Partygate”—claims that officials in Downing Street, including Mr Johnson, repeatedly broke the government’s lockdown rules imposed during the covid-19 pandemic.
Mr Johnson was fined, as were Mr Sunak and dozens of civil servants, after a police inquiry. A report by a senior civil servant, Sue Gray, described shameful scenes, including vomiting after officials held a late-night party and rudeness to cleaning staff. As in the Pincher affair, Downing Street officials and the prime minister changed their stories time and again about what went on and what he knew when. Mr. Johnson is still to face a parliamentary inquiry into whether he knowingly misled the House of Commons—by the usual standards of British political honour, a resignation offence. . ."
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Javid/Sunak resignations - snap analysis
It could all be over for Boris Johnson - although quite how long it will take his enemies to finish him off is not at all clear and his defenestration does not look immediate. The two byelection defeats almost two weeks ago prompted calls for cabinet ministers to mount a coup against Boris Johnson, and it finally it seems to be happening.
We have not had confirmation yet, but it is impossible to believe that the resignations of Sajid Javid and Rishi Sunak were not coordinated. Perhaps there are more to come.
The Sunak resignation is the most serious of the two. Since the spring statement, the chancellor has not been the obvious heir apparent he once was. But he is still a powerful figure in the party. The resignation of Nigel Lawson helped to bring down Margaret Thatcher, although it took just over a year for that to eventually play out.
Even if there are no more resignations, the mood in the Conservative party has already turned against Johnson – perhaps decisively.
Under current rules Johnson is safe from another leadership challenge until next summer. But the executive of the 1922 Committee can change the rules whenever it wants. A new anti-Johnson executive is expected to be elected next week, but even the current executive – more evently split between loyalists and critics – could act now if it felt there was a consensus in the party.
Johnson is famously stubborn, and he is unlikely to quit just because two ministers have decided to go. But increasingly Conservative MPs believe they have no chance of winning the next election under his leadership. Ultimately that assessment should prove decisive."
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