Title: Rishi Sunak Faces Criticism for Missing Parliamentary Vote on Boris Johnson’s Conduct
Additional Piece:
Rishi Sunak, the UK’s Chancellor of the Exchequer, has come under heavy criticism for failing to participate in a parliamentary vote concerning a report on Prime Minister Boris Johnson’s conduct. The House of Commons privileges committee recently released a comprehensive 33,000-word report that found Johnson guilty of five instances of contempt of parliament. These offenses included intentionally misleading MPs about the Partygate scandal and participating in a campaign to abuse the MPs conducting the inquiry.
The report, which recommended a 90-day suspension for Johnson if he had not already resigned as an MP and denied him access to the Commons, was presented to parliament for formal approval. The Labour party pushed for a vote on the report, which was overwhelmingly passed with 354 votes in favor and only 7 against. Notably, 118 Conservative MPs supported the report, including high-ranking ministers such as Justice Secretary Alex Chalk and Education Secretary Gillian Keegan.
However, Sunak was absent from the parliamentary debate and vote, which drew criticism from his colleagues and opposition leaders. Labour leader Sir Keir Starmer urged Sunak to show leadership and publicly indicate where he stood on the matter. Sunak, on the other hand, claimed that it was a matter for the House and refrained from expressing his views ahead of the potential vote.
Former Prime Minister Theresa May took the opportunity to publicly show her support for holding Johnson accountable, stating that it is crucial for Tory MPs to demonstrate readiness to act when their own members fall short. May confirmed that she would vote in favor of the report and recognized the meticulous work of the privileges commission MPs who faced insults and challenges to their integrity.
The absence of Conservative MPs during the debate raised eyebrows, with some privately admitting that they wanted to avoid endorsing the report due to threats of deselection from Johnson’s supporters. Meanwhile, Johnson and his loyalists attempted to discredit the privileges committee, claiming that its chair, Labour MP Harriet Harman, held prejudiced views against him. However, Harman revealed that the government had assured her that she would not be seen as biased against the former prime minister.
In the midst of this controversy, video footage of a Christmas party held by Tory activists during the peak of the pandemic in December 2020 has surfaced. The Metropolitan Police have confirmed that they are examining the footage, which shows a gathering prohibited by coronavirus rules.
In summary, Rishi Sunak’s absence from the parliamentary vote on the report regarding Boris Johnson’s conduct has drawn significant criticism. The report’s findings of contempt of parliament by the Prime Minister have led to calls for accountability and repercussions within the Conservative party. The debate surrounding this issue highlights the tensions and divisions within the party, as well as the wider implications for public trust in UK politics.
[Summary]
Rishi Sunak has faced criticism for missing a parliamentary vote on a report outlining Boris Johnson’s misconduct. The report, released by the House of Commons privileges committee, found Johnson guilty of five instances of contempt of parliament, including misleading MPs and participating in abuse against the MPs conducting the inquiry. The report recommended a 90-day suspension for Johnson, but Sunak refrained from publicly commenting on the matter. Sunak’s absence from the debate and vote drew criticism, and former Prime Minister Theresa May voiced support for the report and the importance of holding party members accountable. The absence of Conservative MPs during the debate raised concerns, while Johnson and his supporters sought to discredit the committee. Video footage of a Christmas party held by Tory activists during the pandemic has also emerged, currently under investigation by the Metropolitan Police. The controversy underscores the divisions within the party and the wider implications for public trust in UK politics.
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Rishi Sunak has faced heavy criticism for missing a parliamentary vote on a report on Boris Johnson’s conduct, as former Prime Minister Theresa May said it was “doubly important” for Tory MPs to publicly support him.
The House of Commons privileges committee’s 33,000-word report, released last week, found that Johnson had committed five contempt of parliament. These included deliberately misleading MPs about the Partygate scandal and complicity in a campaign of abuse against the MPs who undertook the inquiry.
The report, which had recommended suspending Johnson from parliament for 90 days if he had not already resigned as an MP and denied him a pass into the Commons, was presented to parliament on Monday for formal approval.
Labor forced a vote on the report, which passed by an overwhelming majority 354 to 7.
In total 118 Conservatives backed him, including Justice Secretary Alex Chalk, Education Secretary Gillian Keegan, Whip Chief Simon Hart, Welsh Secretary David TC Davies and Security Minister Tom Tugendhat.
Only six Conservatives, including veteran Brexiter Sir Bill Cash, objected to the report.
Earlier in the day Labor leader Sir Keir Starmer, speaking to ITV, had urged Sunak to “show leadership” and “show us where he is on this” by coming to the debate and taking part in the vote on it.
However, Downing Street had said Sunak would host Swedish Prime Minister Ulf Kristersson in the afternoon before attending a charity dinner in the evening, and then “monitor the situation” in the House of Commons remotely.
When pressed on his view on the report and its recommendations, Sunak said it was “a matter for the House rather than the Government” and told ITV he did not wish to “influence” any MP ahead of a potential vote by commenting further.
Speaking in the debate, one of his predecessors, May, gave it a thinly veiled jab by singling out his own party and saying: ‘It is doubly important to us [Tory MPs] to show that we are ready to act when one of our own, however old, is found wanting.
The former prime minister confirmed that he will vote in favor of the “strict” report and paid tribute to the “scrupulous work and dignity” of the privileges commission MPs in the face of “insults on their integrity”.
He warned that trust between the public and parliament would be “undermined” if people saw MPs trying to “save the careers of friends” who were “guilty of wrongdoing”.
His remarks came after Commons leader Penny Mordaunt also said she would vote to support the report.
The committee exists “to defend our rights and privileges in this place” including “the right not to be misled” and “the right not to be abused in the performance of our duties,” Mordaunt said, adding, “The integrity of our institutions is important.”
He also suggested that the public believed Johnson was responsible for a “devaluation of the honors system,” afterward his quarrel with Sunak on his nominations for titles of nobility.
Thangam Debbonaire, Labor’s shadow Commons leader, said the public wanted a prime minister who acted honestly and spoke the truth, following the report’s conclusions that Johnson repeatedly lied.
He questioned Sunak’s no-show, saying, “He is unable to move on from his predecessor.” The prime minister has “proven to be too weak to resist Boris Johnson and his sycophants of him,” he said.
Only a smattering of Conservative MPs were present for much of the debate, with some privately admitting they decided to stay away to avoid publicly endorsing the report in the wake of threats of deselection from some of Johnson’s supporters .
In turn, some allies of the former prime minister have declared their intention to “boycott” the next vote Johnson himself urged them do not oppose. Former minister Brendan Clarke-Smith said he rejected the report’s “appalling recommendations” but declined to give “others the satisfaction of playing their silly games” by taking part in a vote on it.
Johnson and some of his loyalists sought to discredit the privileges committee by claiming that its chair Harriet Harman, the veteran Labor MP, held “prejudicial views”.
During the debate Sir Jacob Rees-Mogg brought up his previous tweets criticizing Johnson, in response to which Harman revealed that the government had assured her she would not be seen as prejudiced against the former prime minister after he she had offered to step aside for a chair.
Actor Sir Ian McKellen watched from the Commons gallery, occasionally using binoculars to observe the MPs in the chamber below.
The Metropolitan Police confirmed on Monday that they were examining video footage that has surfaced of a Christmas party held by Tory activists during the height of the pandemic in December 2020.
Invitations to a ‘jingle and mingle’ party, seen by the BBC, were sent to Tory activists in London at a time when socializing indoors was banned in the capital by coronavirus rules.
https://www.ft.com/content/da105db1-2b2e-4429-8c04-d0755bcf9f10
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