Cameron, May, and now Johnson. The resignation of the British Prime Minster completes the trio of resignations of the previous Downing Street leaders who were all members of Conservative Party. The British government has been in a difficult situation since 2016, when the first one was made, and has been affected by crises like the coronavirus and the war in Ukraine. Johnson’s fall seems to be the most dramatic and abrupt of all. It took off due to a historic absolute majority for 2019, but crashed with a series controversies surrounding Johnson that led to the resignations of 38 British officials within 24 hours.
He has been the victim of controversy:
– In October 2021, Owen Paterson (MP for North Shropshire) used his position to benefit two companies for whom he was an advisor. Apart from his parliamentary salary and the compensation, this assistance cost Paterson more than 100,000 euros. This is why Paterson had to resign in November. It also led to scandals about the Conservative Party, and the Johnson administration.
– The prime minister delivered a speech in that month before the Confederation of British Industry. His leadership was an important part of the party’s success. However, his histrionic remarks about a Peppapig theme park fell on deaf ears. Johnson was left confused by the speech, and even stopped Johnson from reorganizing his words.
– One of the most controversial controversies of the year came at its end. The English media ‘Daily Mirror” discovered that the British leader hosted a Christmas party in his residence in 2020 during the confinement imposed by the conservative government because of the pandemic. The measure also prohibited Christmas parties. According to the BBC, it wasn’t the only one.
– Allegra Stratton, a former Downing Street spokeswoman, was the center of controversy in December. ITV TV network published images of a press conference that was being prepared by the politician’s former press chief. These pictures included controversial statements regarding the Christmas party. She explained in humor that the event was a business dinner, and that social distance was not respected. Stratton called the media the next day to apologize and stated that “this event shouldn’t have happened at that moment”. She then asked for her resignation. Johnson vented his anger at the video posted and condemned the network.
– The troubles did not end for the conservative party. On December 9, 2021, news broke that they had been penalized for failing to make a public donation of approximately 79,000 euros. They were sent by a company that was owned by a former Tory leader and were used to fund the Prime Minister’s home improvements. The situation became too dire and the Prime Minister was forced to break with various members of the British Chamber.
– In the United Kingdom, the Courts changed their course and turned against Boris Johnson. The opposition to Johnson’s measures grew rapidly in the days following the scandal. They surpassed 100 votes for the sanitary restrictions. The Labor Party supported the Prime Minister in achieving his goal, but it was a Pyrrhic victory for the politician at both the internal and external levels. The party also lost the seat in North Shropshire’s aforementioned region, which was under Tory control up until that point. It also highlights that the cabinet member who was assigned to investigate the parties is now resigning. He discovered that celebrations had been held in his office. The politician, appointed to negotiate Brexit, had issues with Johnson’s restrictions.
– The population had the opportunity to find out more about events that the British government held during the worst months in the covid-19 crisis. The Guardian published the first photo of several party members enjoying wine and cheese during a May 2020 party in the midst detention. The ITV television network also reported on another appointment on Johnson’s schedule, which featured 100 people attending a party with alcohol beverages.
– The politician was confronted with his first government control session in January 2022. He apologized for his past involvement in the events on seven occasions but avoided questions about the parties. The Labor Party demanded his head, and internal tensions within the party were evident. This culminated in Johnson’s June motion of censure by members of the conservative party. Johnson was able to retain his position with a poor result of 211 votes for and 148 against the “premier”.
– In February, Christopher Pincher was appointed as the parliamentary treasurer. He had been a former Minister of State for Europe, the Americas. There were several reports that Pincher, who was in a drunken state with several men at a private club, would have gone too far. The politician also had an identical event years ago with an Olympic rower. The new resignation was made by the respective parties, along with their respective apologies at the beginning last June.
Since it caused the fall of the tory’ dominoes, this would not be another controversy. Rishi Sunak, Economy Minister, and Sajid Javid were two of Johnson’s most respected politicians. They announced their resignations last Tuesday. Other colleagues quickly followed suit: Will Quince (Deputy Secretary of State of Families), third in the ministerial or, private parliamentary secretaries, and commercial envoys, announced their resignations last Tuesday. 38 members of the conservative party have resigned. Other ’tories’ like Michael Gove, the housing minister, used this opportunity to ask the prime minster for his resignation as “the game was over”.
