After the resignations of the health and finance ministers, two other UK ministers and a high-ranking official announced on Wednesday that they would resign from Boris Johnson’s government. The number of new resignations brings the number of resignations to 13 since yesterday, and conservative politicians say they have lost confidence in the prime minister.
Once again, Boris Johnson is fighting for his political survival. His government has been increasingly weakened, and 13 ministers and ministers of state have left their posts since Tuesday.
Following the near-simultaneous dismissal of Rishi Sunak, the head of the Treasury, and Sajid Javid, from Health, Will Quince resigned Wednesday from the Children and Family Department, Robin Walker left the position in charge of school standards, and Laura Trott left her leadership position at the Department of Transportation.
Conservatives say they have lost faith in the prime minister after Johnson publicly apologized on Tuesday for appointing Chris Pincher, accused of sexual harassment, as deputy leader of the Conservative caucus in Parliament.
Boris Johnson’s government insisted it was not aware of the allegations when Pincher was appointed, but after revealing that he had information about harassment cases since 2019, the prime minister was forced to apologize and admit the “wrong”.
Boris Johnson, who has been weakened but determined to maintain his government, will defend his position in Parliament during the weekly Prime Minister’s Questions session, which takes place this afternoon.
Economically difficult time
Rishi Sunak’s resignation from the portfolio comes at a very difficult economic time in the United Kingdom, amid a crisis due to the high cost of living that has caused protests.
Inflation is at its highest level in forty years. In May, the rate was 9.1% in twelve months.
In his resignation letter, the former chancellor said the British people expected the government to act in an “efficient” and “serious” manner. Considering that this is not the behavior of the Johnson administration, Sunak said that this was the reason for his resignation.
The new crisis exacerbates a government already weakened by a series of scandals over the past few years. Johnson lost support after a complaint by the Downing Street party organization during the pandemic. In early June, his party requested a vote of confidence against Johnson, but the prime minister managed to win the vote and remain in office..
in newspaper telegraphFormer Brexit minister David Frost, who left government in December, urged Johnson to step down “for not taking the party and government with him”.
A YouGov poll published last night showed that 69% of British voters think Boris Johnson should resign.
(With information from AFP)
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