Title: Rishi Sunak Faces Three Challenging By-Elections: A Test of Leadership
Former UK Cabinet Minister Nigel Adams has announced his immediate resignation from the House of Commons, just before Rishi Sunak is set to face three challenging by-elections. Adams’ resignation has fueled speculation that Johnson supporters are engaging in a coordinated attempt to undermine the incumbent Downing Street. Sunak’s Conservative party will also have to defend the seats previously held by Johnson and another of his supporters, Nadine Dorries, both of whom resigned as MPs. An insider has called the upcoming by-elections the first big test of Sunak’s leadership, and if they don’t do well, trouble will follow.
Boris Johnson’s departure from parliament has also raised eyebrows. Johnson resigned in protest of what he considered a “kangaroo court” privileges committee that was to judge whether he lied to MPs about block parties in Downing Street. Johnson’s resignation honours were published on Friday and rewarded allies with peerages, knighthoods, and other awards. Downing Street has denied any direct involvement by Sunak in this matter.
Adams had a commanding lead in Selby and Ainsty, which he has held since its creation in 2010, and his resignation has sparked concern among party workers, as by-elections can lead to surprising results. The Conservatives have lost several seats by huge majorities over the past two years in Tiverton and Honiton, North Shropshire and Chesham and Amersham. Many of Johnson’s supporters have never forgiven Sunak for stepping down as Chancellor nearly a year ago, causing Johnson to step down as Prime Minister.
The counter-coup is now well underway. David Bannerman, a former Tory MP declared that “Sunak is on schedule. Expect more by-elections.” Sir Simon Clarke, a former cabinet minister whom Johnson knighted on Friday stated that Adams was “faithful to the last.” But others disagree, calling Boris and Nadine selfish and spiteful. It has been described as “the agony of supporting Boris in parliament.”
Summary:
Rishi Sunak faces three by-elections, and Nigel Adams has resigned immediately from the House of Commons. Adams and Johnson supporters are thought to be coordinating an effort to undermine the incumbent Downing Street. Sunak’s Conservative party will need to defend seats previously held by Johnson and Nadine Dorries. Adams was a stalwart in Selby and Ainsty, a seat that he held since its creation in 2010.
Boris Johnson has resigned, citing a “kangaroo court” privileges committee, blocking him from pursuing his agenda in parliament. Johnson rewarded allies with peerages and knighthoods after his departure. Downing Street has denied any involvement by Rishi Sunak. Many of Johnson’s supporters are disgruntled with Sunak after he stepped down as Chancellor approximately a year ago and is considered a cause for Johnson’s resignation as Prime Minister.
Additional Piece:
Rishi Sunak’s leadership has been hotly debated since he became Chancellor of the Exchequer in February 2020. His tenure has been marked by the COVID-19 pandemic and the economic carnage that it has wrought. Sunak has frequently been praised for his economic interventions, from the furlough scheme to several rounds of stimulus spending. His popularity surged early on in the pandemic, and many touted him as a likely successor to Boris Johnson.
However, the tides have since turned. Sunak’s popularity has taken a hit, whether it is from the persistent questions about the Treasury’s handling of the pandemic or the controversial decisions around tax increases and public spending that he announced in the Autumn Budget. His decisions have been criticised by some on the right and left of politics, with the left criticising the cuts to welfare and housing expenditures and the right due to his recent call for a hike in taxes to tackle the deficit.
Sunak’s leadership and economic policies will come under even more scrutiny as he faces three challenging by-elections. The by-elections will serve as a barometer of his popularity and may signal a shift in the Conservative party’s fortunes. If Sunak is successful, he may earn himself more trust and would be well-positioned for the next general election. If he loses, however, his critics will grow louder, and the Tories may be thrown into turmoil.
In conclusion, Sunak’s leadership and economic policies will be put to the test in the upcoming by-elections. He has had a tumultuous time as Chancellor, with some of his policies facing criticism from both the left and right. If he is successful in the upcoming by-elections, he may regain some of his popularity and would be considered as a likely successor to Boris Johnson. However, if he loses, it may signal the start of a major shake-up in the Conservative party. The by-elections will be a crucial test of Sunak’s leadership and his ability to deliver results.
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Rishi Sunak faces three challenging by-elections in the coming weeks after former UK cabinet minister Nigel Adams announced he would leave the House of Commons immediately.
The decision of Adams, an ally of the former prime minister Boris Johnson – raised immediate speculation about a coordinated attempt to undermine the Downing Street incumbent.
Sunak’s Conservative party will also have to defend the seats previously held by Johnson and another of his supporters, Nadine Dorries, both of whom resigned as MPs on Friday.
A Conservative insider said on Saturday that “trouble will come if we don’t do well” in the by-election, describing it as the first big test of Sunak’s leadership.
The atmosphere at the party was “already not great and that’s going to upset people,” the person added.
Another Tory figure said: “He’s a headache – I think in the long run it might be slightly better for them (Sunak’s team) not to have Boris, but that’s marginal as he’ll be sniping from the sidelines.”
Adams enjoyed a huge majority of 20,137 votes in his seat of Selby and Ainsty, which he has held since its creation in 2010.
But the UK by-election can lead to surprising results. The Tory party has lost several seats by huge majorities over the past two years in Tiverton and Honiton, North Shropshire and Chesham and Amersham.
Many of Johnson supporters they have never forgiven Sunak for stepping down as chancellor nearly a year ago, in a move that precipitated a wider ministerial coup that forced the then prime minister from office.
“The counter-coup is now well underway,” said David Bannerman, a former Tory MP. “Sunak is on schedule. Expect more by-elections.”
Sir Simon Clarke, a former cabinet minister whom Johnson knighted on Friday, described Adams as “faithful to the last”.
But one Tory MP said: ‘Boris and Nadine are selfish and have lost. All this out of spite.”
A second Conservative MP said it “feels like the agony of supporting Boris in parliament”.
Adams’ resignation came hours after Johnson announced his departure in protest at what he called the ‘kangaroo court’ privileges committee, which stands to judge whether he lied to MPs about block parties in Downing Street.
Johnson said Friday night he would leave parliament “for now” because he believed the committee, which has a Conservative majority, was preparing “political blockbuster work” against him after it approved his initial results this week.
On Friday Downing Street published Johnson’s resignation honours, which he used to reward allies with peerages, knighthoods and other awards.
A group of four Johnson-supporting Conservative MPs, including Adams and Dorries, were expected to receive peerages, but some colleagues believe they were blocked by number 10 to avoid a by-election wave. Downing Street has denied any direct involvement by Sunak.
Former culture secretary Dorries resigned on Friday, prompting an imminent by-election in his Mid Bedfordshire constituency, where he had a majority of 24,664.
The Conservatives will defend a narrower majority of 7,210 in Johnson’s former seat of Uxbridge in west London, raising expectations that Labor will seize that constituency.
The other two Conservative MPs who should have been awarded peerages – but didn’t – were Scottish secretary Alister Jack and Alok Sharma, the former COP26 chairman.
https://www.ft.com/content/14cbfd07-0032-4c21-84b3-280f9dfedc7e
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