Boris Johnson showed himself determined to “continue” in his post as British Prime Minister on Wednesday, despite an avalanche of resignations within the government which weakens more than ever his authority, already very much damaged by a succession of scandals.
Far from the triumph of his Downing Street debut in 2019 under the promise of delivering Brexit, the Tory leader now seems hemmed in by embarrassing business and accusations of lies.
Tired, the Ministers of Health Sajid Javid and Finance Rishi Sunak slammed the door Tuesday evening, triggering the hemorrhage. Other less senior members of the government have in turn thrown in the towel, bringing the total number of departures to nearly thirty.
Weakened, Boris Johnson nevertheless showed himself to be combative during the weekly questioning session in front of the deputies, some of whom laughed in his face.
Ignoring calls to leave, Boris Johnson instead claimed that the “colossal mandate” given to him by voters in 2019 gave him the duty to “continue”.
Opposition Labor leader Keir Starmer slammed an end-of-reign “pathetic spectacle” while Scottish Nationalist SNP leader in the House of Commons Ian Blackford demanded a snap election. In the afternoon, Mr Johnson dismissed such an idea.
“Bye Boris”
The resigning ministers had harsh words for the head of government, questioning his honesty.
In front of the deputies, Sajid Javid detailed the reasons for his departure, convinced that Boris Johnson would not change: “that’s enough”, he launched, before some deputies resumed a “bye Boris” launched by one of them.
His resignation, as well as that of his colleague from Finance were announced on Tuesday evening when Boris Johnson had just apologized after a new scandal.
Mr. Johnson admitted having made a “mistake” in appointing Chris Pincher to his government in February, deputy chief “whip” in charge of parliamentary discipline for Conservative MPs.
The latter resigned last week after being accused of touching two men.
After claiming the opposite, Downing Street admitted on Tuesday that the Prime Minister had been informed of old charges against Mr. Pincher in 2019 but that he had “forgotten” them by naming him.
“Integrity” in question
For Mr. Javid, 52, the British are entitled to expect “integrity from their government”.
Boris Johnson quickly replaced the two resigners by appointing his Education Minister Nadhim Zahawi to Finance and Steve Barclay, hitherto in charge of government coordination, to Health. But since the departures have multiplied. Early Wednesday afternoon, five secretaries of state jointly announced their resignations, calling on Boris Johnson to step down. A sixth resignation among the Secretaries of State followed minutes later.
While several ministers have reaffirmed their support for the head of government, his political survival hangs by a thread.
By mid-afternoon, he began to clash with the chairmen of the main House of Commons committees, including some of his most vocal critics within the Conservative party.
According to a Savanta ComRes poll published on Wednesday, 72% of Britons believe he should quit.
Already significantly weakened by the Downing Street party scandal during the Covid-19 pandemic, Mr Johnson survived a vote of no confidence from his own camp a few weeks ago.
But according to the British press, the anti-Johnson are maneuvering to allow a new vote quickly, by changing the current rule which protects the head of government for another 11 months. The executive office of the powerful “Comité 1922”, competent to settle the question, must meet in the afternoon.
Added to this were several cases of a sexual nature in Parliament which led to the departure of two deputies. The partial legislative elections organized to replace them ended in heavy defeats for the conservatives, after poor results in the local elections in May.