By making fun of the Prime Minister’s predicament on social media today, Britons were able to see the humorous side of the crisis gripping Boris Johnson’s Government.
Following the resignations of Chancellor Rishi Sunak and Health Secretary Sajid Javid last night, Mr. Johnson is making an effort to bolster his position today.
More junior members of the government began to leave the government as a result of their departures, with ministers Will Quince and Robin Walker leaving today as the most recent.
Numerous humorous memes were shared on Twitter amid rumors that Mr. Johnson’s tenure in Number 10 may soon be coming to an end.
One mentioned the pricey and contentious renovation of the Downing Street apartment by designer Lulu Lytle and the prime minister’s wife Carrie Johnson.
Carrie was frantically steaming off the gold wallpaper with an iron and throwing it into an overnight bag, according to the tweet.
One more said, “the Cabinet is open and everyone is having a great time,” referencing the horror movie Jaws.
Another mock quoted Volodymyr Zelensky, the president of Ukraine, as stating, “The thing is Boris, you have been quite a few times previously.”
It was alluding to Mr. Johnson’s earlier excursions to Kyiv, which had been claimed to have been attempts to deflect attention from domestic criticism of the prime minister at the time.
Another meme parodied Mr. Johnson’s well-known Brexit catchphrase, reading “Get Exit Done” atop a picture of the Prime Minister leaving No. 10.
A fifth said, “Live scenes from Downing Street,” while displaying a drawing of the Titanic in the process of sinking.
Another tweet, this time regarding the renovation of the Downing Street apartment, displayed a well-known image of the hasty US evacuation of Saigon during the Vietnam War and read: “Scenes from Number 10 as Carrie Johnson flees with the wallpaper.”
A third person on the subject suggested that the PM may “re-wallpaper” the Downing Street apartment using the resignation letters he had received.
Last night, Mr. Javid announced his resignation in a fiery letter to the prime minister. Mr. Sunak quickly responded with a similar tirade.
In place of Mr. Javid, the PM named his chief of staff Steve Barclay as Health Secretary, and Nadhim Zahawi was elevated to the position of Chancellor.
Following the publication of a letter by former senior civil servant Lord McDonald of Salford, critics of the PM’s nomination of suspected groper Chris Pincher to the whips’ office gained further ammo.
In his letter of resignation, Mr. Sunak stated that “we cannot continue like this” and that he was leaving despite knowing that his senior post might be his last in the government.
In his essay, he stated that “the public legitimately expects government to be done professionally, competently, and seriously.”
While Mr. Zahawi was live on the air today, he received word of another another resignation.
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.”