Additional Piece:
Unpacking the Political Fallout of Boris Johnson’s Resignation
Boris Johnson stepped down from his position as MP on Friday, days before a report by the cross-party Commons Privileges Committee was set to release its findings on whether Johnson had lied to parliament about hosting parties during COVID-19 lockdowns. The report is highly expected to be a damning indictment of Johnson’s actions. This scandal has had political fallout and raised questions concerning the British government’s integrity, accountability and transparency in the face of its citizens.
The Pressure Cooker
The last quarter of 2021 was filled with news biting scandals and controversies for the political establishment in the United Kingdom. The Conservative Party, under the stewardship of the enigmatic Boris Johnson, has been grappling with internal dissension. Brexit negotiations continue to be a headache for the government to manage, causing shortages in the United Kingdom. The country is still reeling from the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic with hundreds of thousands of people dead and millions of people being affected by its social and economic impacts.
The government has also been grappling with voter anxiety concerning rising food and energy prices and access to democratic governance. The ball started rolling in November 2021, when, for example, members of the House of Commons were found to have broken COVID-19 restrictions by hosting parties in the parliament building. The unfolding scandal reached boiling point with the resignation of Boris Johnson.
The Fallout
Boris Johnson has been widely credited for the Conservative Party’s resounding victory in the 2019 general election. However, since there is a general consensus that the Conservative party is in the decline, with polls suggesting a sharp fall in their popularity rating, Johnson’s resignation seems to have been influenced by losing the confidence of his party and more specifical the Prime Minister Rishi Sunak when Johnson urged Sunak to interfere with the Holac committee.
For now, the big political question to be asked is who will step up to inherit the shoes left behind by Boris Johnson, and his unique political personality. Over the last few months, there has been a shrill from the public for a vast political overhaul to make the British Government more accountable and consistent with their democratic mandate. However, some have their doubts about the short-term future of British politics, with the general consensus being that the country is facing a severe political crisis.
Summary:
Boris Johnson resigned from his position as MP on Friday, hours before a report by the Commons Privileges Committee on whether Johnson had lied to parliament about holding parties in lockdown was set to be released. Rishi Sunak accused the former Prime Minister of asking him to reverse a decision by Holac, the House of Lords Nomination Committee, to refuse Johnson’s nominations for peership. The move by Sunak infuriated some of Johnson’s allies who alleged that Sunak reneged on a deal to wave the entire list.
The fallout from the Johnson affair raises questions about the government’s integrity, accountability and transparency in the face of the country’s citizens. Johnson’s resignation is only the latest scandal to rock the political establishment in the United Kingdom, with COVID-19 and Brexit negotiations being major sources of internal dissension within the Conservative party.
The Johnson affair highlights the urgent need for a significant political overhaul in the United Kingdom, with voters increasingly concerned about rising food and energy prices and access to democratic governance. The question now is who will step up to fill the political vacuum left behind by Boris Johnson, and what their vision for the country will be.
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Rishi Sunak on Monday turned on his predecessor Boris Johnson, claiming the former prime minister had asked him to interfere and wave a long list of his allies in the House of Lords.
Sunak he said Johnson asked him to reverse a decision by the House of Lords nomination committee (Holac) to block some of the names on his proposed list of nobility.
“When it comes to honors and Boris JohnsonBoris Johnson asked me to do something which I was not willing to do because I didn’t think it was right, either to govern the Holac committee or to make promises to the people,” Sunak said.
Holac confirmed that he had rejected eight nominees proposed for Johnson’s resignation, which was announced on Friday. Johnson’s allies said Sunak broke a promise to wave the entire list, a charge Downing Street denied.
“I wasn’t prepared to do it because I didn’t think it was right,” Sunak said at the London Tech Week conference in London.
“And if people don’t like it, then you last. When I got this job I said I was going to do things differently because I was going to change the policy.”
Two former MPs expected to receive peerages from Johnson – Nadine Dorries and Nigel Adams – have since left parliament, prompting an upcoming by-election.
Johnson resigned as MP on Friday evening ahead of the release of a report by the cross-party committee on Commons privileges expected to heavily criticize him for misleading the Commons when he said he was unaware of parties held at Number 10 during the Covid-19 lockdowns .
The committee will meet on Monday to finalize its report on whether Johnson lied to parliament about the partygate deal, amid a heightened security deal for its members.
Tensions around the relationship have been accentuated after Johnson called the committee, which has a Tory majority, a “kangaroo court” and said it was the victim of “a witch hunt”.
Michael Gove, leveling secretary, told the BBC Today program: “I deplore the fact that they are now in a position where they reportedly had to seek out and obtain additional security. I express my solidarity with them and their families”.
The committee’s report is due to be published this week. Johnson’s decision to resign will trigger a third by-election in his Uxbridge constituency.
Labor are confident of winning Uxbridge, where Johnson had a majority of 7,210 at the last election, but Adams’ Selby seat in Yorkshire will be more difficult for Labour: the Tories won that seat with a majority of 20,137 last time. time.
The Liberal Democrats, meanwhile, are pouring their efforts into winning Dorries’ seat in Mid Bedfordshire, where the Conservatives defend a majority of 24,664.
At their meeting, MPs on the privileges committee should also discuss whether comments by Johnson and his allies in the House of Commons have called into question the integrity of the committee and are potentially in contempt of parliament.
Gove said Johnson had “paid a price because of the nature of the way he handled his relationship with the House of Commons”.
Asked if he thought Johnson would return as an MP, Gove said: ‘I think that’s an issue for him. I have offered Boris Johnson advice in the past and he hasn’t always taken it.”
https://www.ft.com/content/bb72be88-6ff1-4ec6-9bed-262b870d7135
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