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LONDON – British Prime Minister Boris Johnson on Wednesday fought for his political life as more ministers and aides continued to leave his government and a former top cabinet minister made a scathing critique of Johnson’s leadership.
Johnson was trying to get past the dramatic events on Tuesday, which saw the resignation bomb of two of his top cabinet ministers: Chancellor Rishi Sunak and Health Secretary Sajid Javid, both of whom have their own power bases in the party and is believed to be future candidates for leadership.
Johnson’s effort to quickly occupy the top positions did not stop the tide of more resignations, albeit younger ones. Over a 24-hour period, at least 26 Conservative politicians resigned in protest of Johnson’s leadership.
The resignations, which have followed a series of scandals, have raised numerous questions: How long can Johnson survive? Is this Johnson’s end? Is there any way to unseat him?
In a fiery session of the prime minister’s weekly questions, Johnson dismissed those demanding his resignation.
Asked by a fellow Conservative if there were any circumstances in which he should resign, Johnson said he would resign if the government could not continue. “Frankly, the job of a prime minister in difficult circumstances when you’ve been given a colossal mandate is to move on, and that’s what I’m going to do.”
As a sign of the mood of the session, at one point a group of opposition Labor Party lawmakers greeted Johnson, shouting, “Goodbye.”
Javid, the former health secretary whose resignation led to the exodus, made a scathing critique of the prime minister, telling Parliament that “breaking the tightrope between loyalty and integrity has become impossible in recent years. months”. He said late last year, senior officials told him no party had been held on Downing Street during the pandemic blockades. A police investigation into “Partygate” ended with 126 fines, including one for Johnson.
The ‘Partygate’ investigation in the UK ends with 126 fines, with no further citations for Boris Johnson
Javid added that “this week again, we have reason to question the truth and integrity of what we have all been told,” he said, referring to a separate scandal involving Chris Pincher, who had recently resigned as deputy director of the assault after allegations of assaulting two men while drunk. Downing Street initially said Johnson was unaware of any previous allegations of misconduct when the prime minister gave Pincher a key government position, but then stepped back to acknowledge that Johnson knew of an investigation that confirmed similar complaints on 2019.
The resignations of top UK ministers and the plight of Prime Minister Boris Johnson’s government dominated British newspaper headlines on 6 July. (Video: Reuters)
“The problem starts at the top,” Javid said.
While Javid was speaking, another minister resigned.
The latest Boris Johnson scandal provokes the resignation of prime ministers
The majority of the British public believes that Johnson should throw in the towel. A YouGov poll published on Tuesday found that 69 per cent of Britons said Johnson should resign, including the majority of Conservative voters (54 per cent).
Only 18 per cent of the British public says Johnson should stay.
Johnson has made it clear that if it depends on him, he will stay where he is. And according to current Conservative Party rules, there is no formal way for Johnson’s critics to get rid of him quickly. Because Johnson narrowly survived a vote of no confidence in his party last month, he is officially isolated from the party’s additional challenges for a year.
Rob Ford, a political expert at the University of Manchester, drew parallels with 2016 when, following the Brexit vote, there were mass cabinet resignations in the shadow of the opposition Labor Party with the aim to pressure Labor leader Jeremy Corbyn. While some leaders may have read the room and decided to leave, Ford said, Corbyn did not and remained a leader until the spring of 2020.
“Similarly, with Johnson, there’s widespread opposition to his leadership. You have a leader who won’t give in to informal pressure to go there, and the only formal mechanism you have isn’t available. So you’re in a limbo state, ”Ford said.
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There has been a lot of talk in recent days about how the rules of the party could be changed. And in the next few days, Conservative lawmakers will elect new members to the powerful 1922 Committee, which makes the rules. Some of those campaigning for the papers have suggested they would support allowing another vote of censure.
Meanwhile, the number of resignations, even from former loyalists, continued to rise. Analysts say Johnson is lucky insofar as the stated reasons for the loss of faith appear to be varied: his critics do not unite around a single issue, as did those who helped undo it. of Theresa May, Johnson’s predecessor, when she was abandoned. .
Ford said that while Johnson could limping until another vote of confidence is held, the chances of the Conservative Party leading the next general election, scheduled for 2025, seemed slim.
“At least another vote of confidence will be possible in 11 months. What exactly will change now and then to regain confidence in Johnson?” Ford asked. “At this point, I think something similar would be needed. a biblical miracle. Nothing can be ruled out with the luckiest politician in British politics, but something extraordinary would be needed. “