U.K. Prime Minister Boris Johnson Fights For Survival After Wave Of Government Resignations

Topline

British Prime Minister Boris Johnson is fighting to stay in power on Wednesday after two senior ministers abruptly resigned and said they had lost faith in his leadership after the latest in a series of scandals rocked the administration, triggering a wave of government resignations and raising questions over Johnson’s integrity and ability to lead the country.

Boris Johnson is reshuffling his cabinet after a series of resignations.

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Key Facts

Finance minister Rishi Sunak and health secretary Sajid Javid, two of Johnson’s most senior Cabinet ministers, quit within minutes of each other on Tuesday night and criticized the prime minister’s behavior in excoriating resignation letters.

A flurry of junior ministers and government aides followed—at the time of writing, there have been 14 government resignations—including solicitor general Alex Chalk, parliamentary private secretary to the department of transport Laura Trott and Bim Afolami, vice-chair of Johnson’s Conservative Party.

Johnson has appointed Nadhim Zahawi, formerly the education secretary, as the new finance minister to replace Sunak and Steve Barclay, the former chief of staff for Downing Street, as health secretary.

Most of the remaining senior lawmakers in government, including home secretary Priti Patel, justice secretary Dominic Raab and foreign secretary Liz Truss, have publicly voiced support for Johnson.

Key Background

The exodus of government officials, particularly Sunak and Javid, come as a major blow to Johnson. It raises further doubts about his abilities to command his party, government and to win elections, already under question after the party suffered heavy defeats at two by-elections in June and large numbers of lawmakers voted against Johnson’s leadership at a confidence vote. It comes after a series of successive scandals to rock the administration, including controversies surrounding Brexit, the handling of contracts during the Covid-19 pandemic and revelations of rule breaking parties at Downing Street during lockdown—dubbed “Partygate”—which ended in more than 120 police fines, including for Johnson, his wife, Carrie, and Sunak. Johnson’s fine marked the first time a sitting British prime minister was sanctioned for breaking the law.

News Peg

The resignations come amid accusations Johnson lied to Downing Street staff and ministers over whether he was aware of previous allegations made against Chris Pincher before he was appointed as deputy chief whip. Pincher resigned from his position in late June after new allegations of sexual misconduct. Johnson has since said he was briefed on the allegations but forgot about them.

Chief Critic

Sunak and Javid have long supported Johnson in public and both proffered unusually blunt resignation letters. Sunak said the “public rightly expect government to be conducted properly, competently and seriously” and stressed he is resigning to defend those standards. He hinted that Johnson was planning to mislead voters over the country’s economic situation and the “difficult decisions” that lie ahead. “Our people know that if something is too good to be true then it’s not true,” he said. “They need to know that whilst there is a path to a better future, it is not an easy one.” Javid, in a similarly cutting style, said the tone Johnson sets as leader and the values he represents “reflect on your colleagues, your party and ultimately the country.” While Conservatives may not always have been popular, Javid said they have been “competent in acting in the national interest.” In current circumstances, both the public and large numbers of Johnson’s colleagues are “concluding that we are now neither,” he said, adding that it is “clear” this situation will not change under his leadership.

What To Watch For

Conservative rebellion. As Johnson survived a confidence vote in June, he is immune to another effort to oust him for a year. The Committee responsible for organizing Conservative MPs is reportedly considering changing these rules to allow another vote on Johnson’s leadership.