Tensions between British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak and his predecessor Boris Johnson turned into open conflict on Monday after the resounding resignation from Parliament of the former occupier of Downing Street, exposing the fractures within the British Conservatives.
The year remaining before the 2024 legislative elections promises to be long for the party in power for thirteen years, already struggling in the polls against the Labor Party.
Plunging the majority back into turmoil, Boris Johnson, still an MP since his forced departure from Downing Street last summer, announced his resignation from Parliament on Friday. He denounced a “witch hunt” as he faced sanctions for lying to MPs during the COVID-19 pandemic.
His departure from his seat as a deputy also came after a psychodrama: the former leader had just seen the list of appointments to the House of Lords proposed, according to tradition, by prime ministers at the end of their mandate rejected.
“Boris Johnson asked me to do something that I wasn’t ready to do, because I didn’t think it was right,” Rishi Sunak defended on Monday. “I didn’t think it would have been a good thing, and if some people don’t like it, well, too bad.”
It is up to the incumbent Prime Minister to approve these appointments after advice from the House of Lords Appointments Committee (HOLAC) and, as is customary, he makes no changes to the list submitted.
“Rishi Sunak is talking nonsense,” replied Boris Johnson in a press release, assuring that obtaining the green light from HOLAC was only a “mere formality”.
According to British media, Boris Johnson and Rishi Sunak spoke recently about these appointments and the first thought he had obtained satisfaction from the second.
But when the list was published on Friday, some names repeatedly mentioned in the media were absent, such as the father of the ex-prime minister, Stanley, and former ministers.
The controversy swelled, leading the commission to indicate that it had not supported the candidacy of eight proposed, unnamed people.
On the other hand, political allies and former advisers of Boris Johnson have been rewarded with life seats in the House of Lords (including a 29-year-old adviser) or various decorations.
Promise of Integrity
“I said I was going to do things differently because I want to change politics and that’s what I’m doing,” insisted Rishi Sunak who promised an honest and responsible government after the scandals of the Johnson era. and ensures that he wants to focus on the fight against inflation and illegal immigration.
The thunderous ex-mayor of London has never forgiven Rishi Sunak, then finance minister, for having precipitated his downfall by leaving the government after a series of scandals, involving part of the government.
Since then, attempts to return to power have regularly been attributed to Boris Johnson, who has strong allies in the majority and retains a considerable aura within the base of the Conservative Party, for whom he remains the one who carried out Brexit after having won a historic electoral victory in the 2019 legislative elections.
The former leader, whose three years in Downing Street were marred by scandals and accusations of patronage, sharply attacked the current government in his resignation letter on Friday, accusing it of reneging on its 2019 promises.
Boris Johnson’s real capacity for harm, however, remains uncertain. In the past year he had to give up a bid to return to power after the short-lived Liz Truss debacle in Downing Street, leaving the way open for Rishi Sunak, and failed to lead the hoped-for revolt against an agreement signed between the government and Brussels on Northern Ireland.
After his resignation on Friday, only two other MPs followed suit, amid fears by some of a mass movement that could challenge the current Tory majority in parliament.
According to a poll published Monday by the YouGov institute, only 25% of Britons and 49% of Conservative voters would like to see him return to Parliament in the future.