As the PM urgently struggles to hang on, news of a second resignation slammed Boris Johnson’s new Chancellor live on broadcast today.
When Will Quince joined the exodus, criticizing No. 10’s “inaccurate” claims regarding the Chris Pincher allegations, Nadhim Zahawi was in the middle of an interview on the BBC’s flagship Today show.
A somber-looking Mr. Zahawi reacted when asked if it meant Mr. Johnson’s tenure in office was “over”: “I am genuinely sorry to see colleagues depart government.”
The minister for education Robin Walker has since followed his ex-colleague in leaving, claiming that the administration is being “overshadowed by errors and issues about integrity.”
As the PM faces another trying 24 hours, running the gauntlet of PMQs at midday before a three-hour grilling by the influential Liaison Committee – containing some of his toughest detractors – more junior aides have begun voting with their feet.
Although Mr. Sunak does not intend to use the platform, MailOnline has learned that Mr. Javid will deliver what could be a very damaging resignation statement in the Commons this afternoon.
Mutinous Conservatives are pleading on Sir Graham Brady, the head of the 1922 committee on the backbench, to intervene and inform the premier that his time is up. If he persists, they’ll amend the party’s regulations to allow for his removal.
I have this morning presented my resignation to the Prime Minister after I accepted and repeated promises to the media on Monday that have since been proved to be incorrect, Mr. Quince tweeted.
However, despite worries that the Conservative brand could suffer severe harm, Mr. Johnson is not showing any indications of giving in and reportedly responded, “F*** that,” when challenged about the potential by aides.
He stated at a gathering of Conservative MPs last night that he wanted to move forward with tax reductions and that Mr. Sunak had been the one holding him back.
Mr. Zahawi, who was appointed shortly after the resignations last night as the PM tried to right the ship, was sent to the broadcast studios this morning to demonstrate his support.
He denied making any resignation threats in exchange for the coveted No. 11 position, and when asked if he wanted to succeed Mr. Johnson, he said, “There is no vacancy.”
“You don’t go into this job for an easy life, sometimes it’s simple to walk away, but it’s necessary to deliver for the country,” he said in an interview with Sky News.
The prime minister has earned the moniker “Greased Piglet” for his propensity to flee politically dire circumstances, but even his former allies worry that he might be cornered this time.
Laura Trott’s resignation as a ministerial assistant is another indication that support is waning.
In the confusion that followed the double resignation, Mr. Zahawi was promoted from Education Secretary, but a government source argued that he is the “adventurous and buccaneering chancellor Britain needs.”
And Mr. Johnson himself took another shot at Mr. Sunak, saying he had prevented the tax burden from being lowered.
He said, “I know you’re all ardently in favor of tax reduction and tonight’s events might make that a bit easier to deliver,” to a hastily called meeting of Tory MPs Friday night.
The government source claimed that while doing a “fantastic job,” Foreign Secretary Liz Truss, who has long desired No. 11, was “too critical to relocate” because of the Ukrainian situation and the Northern Ireland Protocol controversy.
The PM replaced Mr. Javid as Health Secretary with Steve Barclay, his chief of staff.
Michelle Donelan, a minister for universities, was elevated to the Cabinet to take Mr. Zahawi’s seat.
There was talk that the PM would face a mass walkout after two such senior ministers left. People wanted honesty and competence, according to Mr. Javid, who also cautioned Mr. Johnson that people were “concluding that we are now neither.”
Indicating disagreements over taxes and expenditures, Mr. Sunak asserted that the public had a right to expect the government to act “fully, competently, and seriously.”
The PM’s top staff was seen yesterday at a Cabinet meeting with glum expressions as they discussed the most recent crisis to grip the Government.
‘You’ve seen the images, haven’t you?’ a minister reportedly said to the Mail. Where are the cyanide pills, I hear you ask? However, a number of influential people swiftly declared that they would remain, giving Mr. Johnson a slim chance of surviving.
Former chief whip Andrew Mitchell compared Boris Johnson to Rasputin.
“It reminds me a little bit of Rasputin’s demise.” The Conservative MP said on BBC Newsnight, “He’s been poisoned, stabbed, shot, and his body dumped in the freezing river, yet he lives.
He was sure that the Prime Minister’s career was “gone.”
This Prime Minister is “an abnormal one” who is “brilliantly charming, very humorous, very amusing, and of enormous character, but I’m afraid he lacks the temperament and character to be our Prime Minister.”
It happened soon after Lord McDonald of Salford published a damning letter, giving Mr. Johnson’s detractors more justification for criticizing his selection of suspected groper Chris Pincher for the whips position.
Mr. Sunak stated in his resignation letter that he was willing to give up his political career because “we cannot continue like this.”
In his essay, he stated that “the public legitimately expects government to be done professionally, competently, and seriously.”
Mr. Javid, meanwhile, cast doubt on Mr. Johnson’s honesty, skill, and capacity to operate in the country’s best interests.
In a round of interviews this morning, Mr. Zahawi was questioned about his desire to succeed Mr. Johnson as leader.
There is no opening, he declared.
“First and foremost, I will work really hard to ensure that this team continues to perform,” he continued. The prime minister is concentrated on getting things done, done, done.
When questioned about whether he accepted the position because of personal ambition, he responded, “No, as I said to you, sometimes stepping away may provide you some respite, dare I say, but the idea that you have to deliver for the country, I think, is the proper thing to do.
Mr. Zahawi commented on Mr. Quince’s departure on ITV’s Good Morning Britain: “He certainly feels let down.” To my coworkers, all I have to say is, “Don’t vote for divided teams.”
In response to a question regarding his tax strategies, Mr. Zahawi indicated he would “look at everything.”
When questioned about his plans for corporation tax, the newly appointed Chancellor responded, “Nothing’s off the table.”
When asked about the Prime Minister’s urgent plans for tax reduction and inflation control, he responded to Sky News as follows: “On my first day at work, we had a chat about how my responsibility is to revive and expand the economy.
I’ll take a close look at everything to ensure that we stay on the side of the people.
When questioned explicitly about his plans for corporation tax, he responded, “I will look at everything. Nothing is off the table. One of the nations with the best investment climates is what I want to.
“I am aware that boards from all around the world consider the long term when making investment decisions, and corporation tax is the one tax they can compare globally. While upholding economic restraint, I want to make sure that we are as competitive as we can be.
The resignations of Mr. Sunak and Mr. Javid occurred despite Mr. Johnson desperately attempting to head off the situation with a groveling apologies for his selection of disgraced MP Mr. Pincher as deputy chief whip. Both men’s aides maintain that their departures were not planned.
If there is a leadership election, the bookies’ favorites are former health secretary Jeremy Hunt, trade minister Penny Mordaunt, foreign secretary Liz Truss, and ex-chancellor Rishi Sunak.
Johnson’s position is “untenable,” but Sir Bob Neill, head of the Commons justice committee, told Times Radio that Johnson “may well strive to hold on” and that he will hurt the Conservatives for as long as he does.
The executive posts will be up for election next Wednesday, according to the 1922 committee, which establishes the rules for the parliamentary party.
Both Mr. Johnson’s supporters and detractors will compete for seats in order to have a say in whether or not he faces another vote of confidence, which might occur right away.
The PM has a 12-month grace period before facing another challenge after surviving a vote by a margin of 211 to 148 last month.
With terrible losses in the by-elections for Tiverton and Wakefield since then, however, there has been a new round of crisis, and his detractors are attempting to amend the rules to allow another vote before the summer break.
Yesterday, Tory rebels made it known that they were sending Sir Graham letters of no confidence in order to force a vote on confidence right away, if the rules were altered.
If the 12-month grace period is eliminated, and 54 of the party’s 358 MPs submit letters, a leadership challenge will occur. Then, in a subsequent confidence vote, Mr. Johnson’s detractors would require the support of more than half of the party’s MPs to have him removed.
The leader resigns and is disqualified from running in the election if they are unable to secure a majority.
Seven in ten Britons, including the majority of Conservative voters in 2019, believe Mr. Johnson should step down, according to a recent YouGov poll released last night.
In repeated polls conducted by the website ConservativeHome, Ben Wallace has consistently garnered the highest support as a future leader.
In the most recent poll conducted this week, 15.8% of respondents indicated Penny Mordaunt or Liz Truss should be the party’s leader, just beating them out.
The head of the Commons foreign affairs committee, Tom Tugendhat, received support from 7% of members, followed by Mr. Zahawi with 6.6% and previous leadership contender Jeremy Hunt with 6.4%.
Even if the survey is not totally scientific, MPs and ministers pay close attention to the results.
Candidates seeking leadership positions must receive two nominations from peers.
The two candidates who appear on the ballot would be chosen by a series of votes among the party’s MPs.
In the most recent election in 2019, 66% of members voted for Mr. Johnson against Mr. Hunt.
Sir Roger Gale, a prominent opponent of the prime minister who had opposed changing the procedures for confidence votes, declared last night that he had changed his mind.
The North Thanet Conservative MP remarked to Sky News: “I have said for several days that I feel that the 1922 committee regulations should remain as they are and that we should not change the rules in the middle of the game.”
But this, I’m afraid, drastically alters that picture.
“If the Prime Minister still refuses to go without the confidence of the backbenches of his party, without the confidence, obviously, of significant members of his Cabinet, if that is not enough to persuade him that the time has come for him to step aside, then the 1922 committee, the backbenches, will have to do it for him,” he continued.
The North West Leicestershire Tory MP Andrew Bridgen called for a summer leadership election.
He told BBC News that there had never been a better time to oust Boris Johnson and install a new prime minister. The leadership election should take place when we return from summer break, which is in two weeks.
The announcements that Dominic Raab, Liz Truss, Priti Patel, Ben Wallace, and Therese Coffey will not be resigning all increased Mr. Johnson’s chances of immediate survival.
Notably, Michael Gove, who famously cut off Mr. Johnson’s ambitions for the presidency in 2016, by stabbing him in the back, does not seem to be defecting.
George Eustice, the secretary of the environment, has not yet spoken.
However, some people in the lower ranks have started making their opinions known by leaving. While erstwhile party faithful Jonathan Gullis, Saqib Bhatti, Nicola Richards, and Virginia Crosbie resigned from their PPS positions, Tory vice-chair Bim Afolami made his leave live on television.
The trade envoys to Kenya and Morocco, respectively, Theo Clarke and Andrew Murrison, also announced their resignations.
Mr. Sunak and Mr. Javid had done the “right thing,” according to Lord Frost, formerly Mr. Johnson’s top Brexit representative, and the premier could not reverse course.
Even Cabinet members who remained in their positions sounded pessimistic in private; one admitted to MailOnline yesterday that some of their closest friends and family no longer shared their sympathy for the prime minister.
Boris Johnson was forewarned by Tory backbencher Andrew Bridgen that the 1922 Committee will “deal” with his leadership.
The portcullis is the logo of our Parliament and the final line of defense for our democracy, according to Mr. Bridgen, a critic of the prime minister.
The 1922 committee will handle this troubled prime minister; that’s why it was established, after all.
Conservative MPs are trying to use the 1922 Committee’s procedures in order to re-run a confidence vote against the prime minister.
In broadcast studios, Jacob Rees-Mogg, a minister for Brexit, was called upon to argue that the PM has no “constitutional” need to leave.
When asked if he would actually make it through another Tory vote of confidence, Mr. Rees-Mogg responded to Sky News, “He might very well win another.”
Rees-Mogg claimed that Mr. Johnson was in “business as usual” mode following the resignations and expressed continued optimism that he would surpass Robert Walpole’s record of 21 years in office.
Despite this, it appears that Mr. Sunak and Mr. Javid heard the concerns of Tory rebel MPs who had been calling for action from Cabinet ministers regarding the most recent sleaze crisis tormenting Mr. Johnson’s Government.
“I must tell you that I can no longer, in good conscience, continue serving in this Government,” Mr. Javid said in a statement to the prime minister.
Although I naturally work well in a group, the British people also have a right to expect integrity from their government.
Mr. Javid left the Johnson administration a second time on moral grounds in 2020 while serving as Chancellor after being informed that he could not select his own special advisers.
Boris broke his silence following the body blows by responding to the rebellious pair’s resignation letters with his own.
After receiving Sajid Javid’s letter of resignation as health minister, Boris Johnson expressed his “sad” and said his government would “continue to deliver” on promises for the NHS.
Dear Saj, The Prime Minister wrote in a quick letter: We appreciate your resignation letter, which you submitted. I was so sorry to get it.
“You have distinguished yourself in your service to this Government and the people of the United Kingdom.”
In response to Rishi Sunak’s resignation as chancellor, Boris Johnson expressed his “sad” upon receiving the letter of resignation and commended Mr. Sunak for his “excellent service.”
Dear Rishi, The Prime Minister wrote in a letter: Your letter resigning from the government was received with regret.
“You have served the nation well during the most trying time in our economy’s peacetime history,” the president said.
He mentioned the furlough program, Mr. Sunak’s efforts to fix the state budget and the post-pandemic economic recovery.
The two resignations generated wild rumors that more Cabinet members would soon follow suit and leave Mr. Johnson’s administration.
Following the lead of his former boss Mr. Javid, Conservative MP Saqib Bhatti resigned from his position as a PPS, claiming that “recent incidents have damaged trust and standards in public life.”
The Conservative and Union Party has always been the party of integrity and honor, he said in a tweet announcing his resignation.
“I believe that upholding norms in public life is crucial, and the recent incidents have damaged the public’s confidence in all of us.
“I’ve been debating these issues for a while, and my conscience won’t let me continue to back this administration.”
“I must tender my resignation because of this,” the speaker said.
One of the PM’s most devoted supporters, Mr. Gullis, announced his resignation “with a heavy heart” in a particularly galling blow.
The Conservative Party, which in his words “I have been a member of my entire adult life,” is a group that he believes stands for equality of opportunity. For too long, in my opinion—and this is why I entered politics—we have been more concerned with repairing the damage to our reputation than with serving the needs of the people of this nation and creating opportunities for all.
This is the reason I am unable to continue serving in your government.
Who is still employed by the government and who has left?
Nicola Richards, a Conservative MP, resigned from her position as PPS to the Department of Transport because she “cannot serve under the current conditions.”
The West Bromwich East MP tweeted: “I cannot bring myself to serve as a PPS under the current circumstances, when the focus is skewed by poor judgment that I don’t wish to be connected with. At a time when my people are worried about the cost of living and I am doing my utmost to support them.
“I will always put my constituents first because I am committed to them.”
I also support the Conservative Party, which I can no longer recognize. I think there needs to be a change.
Late on Tuesday night, Cheltenham MP Alex Chalk also announced his retirement from the position of Solicitor General.
Mr. Chalk wrote in a letter to Boris Johnson that he was leaving the position “with great grief,” but added that he was unable to “defend the indefensible.”
In his words: “To be in government is to embrace the responsibility to advance contentious or even unpopular policy stances when doing so advances the greater good of the country. However, it cannot go as far as defending the impossible.
The public’s trust in Number 10’s ability to keep the standards of candor required of a British Government has irreparably crumbled as a result of the Owen Paterson fiasco, Partygate, and the handling of the former Deputy Chief Whip’s resignation. I regret having made that assessment.
Trust in the government has never been more crucial than it is now, given the severe challenges facing our nation. Therefore, I’m afraid it’s time for new leadership.
Tory MP for Hastings and Rye Sally-Ann Hart, who previously backed Mr Johnson the confidence vote last month, says she is no longer able to support him.
She tweeted: ‘Considering the latest facts that have come to light, and given that the integrity of Parliament must be protected, on behalf of my constituents of Hastings and Rye I am no longer able to endorse Boris Johnson as leader of the Conservative Party and Prime Minister.’
Just hours before the crisis erupted, the PM conceded he should have removed Mr Pincher when he was notified of the charges against him while he was a Foreign Office minister in 2019, but instead Mr Johnson went on to appoint him to additional government jobs.
Asked if that was an error, the PM said: ‘I think it was a mistake and I apologies for it. In hindsight that was the wrong thing to do.
‘I apologise to anybody who has been severely affected by it. I want to make clearly clear that there’s no place in this Government for anybody who is predatory or who abuses their position of power.’ Mr Rees-Mogg remarked that ‘losing chancellors is something that occurs’.
He told Sky News that to say such activities should lead to the resignation of the Prime Minister was a ’18th-century’ concept of Cabinet Government.
He claimed that it is the Prime Minister who picks Cabinet ministers and is ‘not someone who is brought down by Cabinet ministers’.
Mr Johnson struck a conciliatory tone in his letter responding to Mr Sunak yesterday.
‘I was sorry to receive your letter resigning from the Government,’ he wrote.
‘You have delivered great service to the country through the most challenging moment for our economy in peacetime history’.
He noted the furlough system, Mr Sunak’s work on post-pandemic economic recovery and to repair state finances, as well as tax reduction.
‘I have tremendously respected your advise and deep devotion to public service and will miss working with you in government,’ he ended.
Taking advantage of Mr. Johnson’s suffering, Sir Keir Starmer advocated for an early election.
He is not a candidate for prime minister. He declared, “He is not qualified to lead the nation.”
Many Conservative Party members are seeing this now, but they must take stock of the fact that they have supported him for months on end.
“Resigning today means nothing against their cooperation for all those months when they should have recognized him for who he was and should have seen him for what he was,” he said.
“A change in government is necessary,”
If an election were to be called within the next few weeks, Sir Keir responded, “Yes. Britain requires a new beginning. A change in government is necessary.
The Labour leader added that a change of administration may bring “political stability” and help with “major concerns” like the cost of living crisis.
The Labour leader claimed that if the remaining members of the Cabinet did not resign, they would be “nodding dogs.” Shortly before the resignation of Rishi Sunak became public, Sir Keir addressed the media. He responded, “Yes, Mr. Johnson is a liar,” when asked if he was a “pathological liar.”
“What we’re seeing this week is a repetition of what we’ve seen so many times: Government ministers go on the radio or television to answer questions, and as soon as they’ve finished the media round, they discover that their answers are inaccurate because the Prime Minister and Number 10 haven’t been honest with them.
Even though it is this week’s story, it is a story that occurs every week.
You can see the Conservative Party ripping itself apart today because it is playing on repeat.
“Yes, his Cabinet members should make sure he steps down from his position. They must remove him from office in the best interests of the country.
They must do what is best for the country and get rid of him since they know what he’s like and he has said that he is mentally incapable of changing.