‘GAME OVER’ FOR BRITISH PRIME MINISTER BORIS JOHNSON

Wed 06 July 2022:

On Wednesday, British Prime Minister Boris Johnson was desperately clinging to his position despite a growing number of legislators asking for his resignation and the resignation of ministers who said he was unfit to lead.

Johnson’s secretaries of finance and health, as well as a number of others in lower-level positions, resigned on Tuesday, citing the latest in a string of scandals that have marred his administration.

Johnson faced increasing pressure to resign, but he demonstrated his will to hold onto power by naming businessman and minister of education Nadhim Zahawi as his new finance minister and filling some of the other positions.

The level of hostility Johnson faces within his party will be laid bare later on Wednesday when he appears in parliament for his weekly question session, and before the chairs of select committees for a scheduled two-hour grilling.

Johnson, a former journalist and London mayor who became the face of Britain’s departure from the European Union, won a landslide election victory in 2019 before taking a combative and often chaotic approach to governing.

His leadership has been mired in scandals and missteps over the last few months, with the prime minister fined by police for breaking COVID-19 lockdown laws and a damning report published about the behaviour of officials at his Downing Street office who breached their own lockdown rules.

There have also been policy U-turns, an ill-fated defence of a lawmaker who broke lobbying rules, and criticism that he has not done enough to tackle a cost-of-living crisis, with many Britons struggling to cope with rising fuel and food prices.

Will be missed

British Prime Minister Boris Johnson told Sajid Javid he was “sorry” to receive his resignation letter as health secretary and suggested his government would “continue to deliver” plans for the NHS.

In a brief letter, the prime minister wrote: “Dear Saj, Thank you for your letter this evening tendering your resignation. I was very sorry to receive it.

“You have served this government, and the people of the United Kingdom, with distinction.”

Johnson noted Javid’s work to tackle Covid-19 backlogs and other plans for the health service, and vowed that “the government will continue to deliver on them.”

“You will be greatly missed, and I look forward to your contribution from the backbenches,” he concluded.

Game over

“Game over”, declared the headline of The Times’ leader, which added it “is a mistake” for Johnson to continue clinging to power because he “has lost the confidence of his party and the country”.

“There is no conceivable chance that Johnson, who failed to secure the backing of 148 MPs in a confidence vote last month, can recover his authority to provide the effective leadership that the country needs at a time of acute national crisis,” The Times wrote.

The latest bout of drama at the heart of British power comes as the economy deteriorates rapidly, with some economists warning that the country could tip into recession.

Lost confidence

The latest scandal saw Johnson apologising for appointing a lawmaker to a role involved in party welfare and discipline, even after being briefed that the politician had been the subject of complaints about sexual misconduct.

It prompted Rishi Sunak to quit as chancellor of the exchequer – the finance minister – and Sajid Javid to resign as health secretary, while half a dozen others left their junior ministerial or envoy roles.

“It is clear to me that this situation will not change under your leadership – and you have therefore lost my confidence too,” Javid said in his resignation letter.

Several of the ministers cited Johnson’s lack of judgement, standards, and inability to tell the truth.

A snap YouGov poll found 69% of Britons thought Johnson should step down as prime minister but for the time being the remainder of his top ministerial team offered their backing.

A month ago, Johnson survived a confidence vote of Conservative lawmakers, and party rules mean he cannot face another such challenge for a year.

However, some lawmakers are seeking to change those rules, while he is also under investigation by a parliamentary committee over whether he lied to parliament about COVID-19 lockdown breaches.

Were Johnson to go, the process to replace him could take a couple of months.

Only two-and-a-half years ago, the ebullient Johnson won a huge parliamentary majority on a promise to sort out Britain’s exit from the European Union after years of bitter wrangling.

But since then, his initial handling of the pandemic was widely criticised and the government has lurched from one predicament to another.

The Conservatives are lagging the opposition Labour Party in the polls, and Johnson’s approval ratings are at all-time lows, despite the widespread praise he received for his backing of Ukraine.

His aggressive stance against the European Union has also hurt the pound, exacerbating inflation, which is expected to top 11%.

SOURCE: INDEPENDENT PRESS AND NEWS AGENCIES

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