THE BORIS SAGA

Boris Johnson Resigns As The Head Of The Conservative Party

Boris Johnson Bowed to Political Pressure

Following an unprecedented wave of resignations from the government & a Cabinet uprising, Boris Johnson ultimately bowed to intense political pressure & had to resign as the head of the Conservative Party. He intends to continue serving as caretaker Prime Minister of UK while a replacement is found till October. PM Johnson’s nearly 3 years in power, which began with a landslide victory in December 2019, has been rocked by a series of scandals & growing criticism from within his own party. In the days following the prime minister's step down, a few MPs have announced their bids to replace him.

Mass Desertion of PM

 This is a mass desertion of the Prime Minister. British media were running lists of ministerial resignations, & The Guardian was reporting that 27 ministers — five at the cabinet level & 22 below cabinet level — had put in their papers. In addition, Johnson had sacked levelling up Secretary Michael Gove for disloyalty, hours after Gove met Johnson & asked him to leave office. Rebecca Pow, the secretary of the environment, resigned on Twitter. Apart from these 29 ministers, dozens of parliamentary private secretaries (PPSs) had exited as well, taking the number of resigning ministers & government aides to more than 50. While the PPS resignations are “far less important” because “government can function without PPSs, but not without ministers”, the numbers do add up. Johnson appeared to be in real danger of being reduced to a Prime Minister without a government.

In Race of Head of Government

 Ex-Chancellor Rishi Sunak, Attorney General Suella Braverman, former Equalities minister Kemi Badenoch & Foreign Affairs Committee chair Tom Tugendhat have all in line of the race of head of the government. Also, in the race are two former health secretaries - Jeremy Hunt & Sajid Javid, as well as Chancellor Nadhim Zahawi & Transport Secretary Grant Shapps. Other possible contenders include Foreign Secretary Liz Truss International Trade Minister Penny Mordaunt. But is the UK ready to acknowledge a leader of colour, of a different race, of a non-Christian faith? The country does have an opportunity to present itself as one that goes beyond the set criteria of the past & carve out a new path.

Scandals in Politics

Whether it was David Cameron’s lobbying for finance company Greensill Capital, or the ‘cash-for-honours’ scandal during Tony Blair’s time, or a string of sexual allegations during Theresa May’s rule — everyone had a run-in with a scandal, which is inevitable in politics, be it the UK, US, India or anywhere else. However, none of these leaders offered their resignation because of how they mishandled or handled a particular scandal. Instead, they struggled to swim against stronger political currents. David Cameron offered his resignation after the UK voted to leave the European Union. For May, it was her inability to overcome the Brexit deadlock in Parliament & Blair jumped ship because of the Labour Party’s successive defeats in elections to the Scottish Parliament & in English local elections. Moreover, none of them waited for their members of parliament to resign before they saw the writing on the wall. Boris Johnson didn’t see the writing on the wall when his cabinet members gathered at his official residence to persuade him to quit. Resignation was offered by him, but the Boris saga seems to look far from over.

Formal Resignation 

Until Johnson goes to the Queen and formally resigns as prime minister, he has the same powers, in theory. He now lacks the authority to introduce any radical new policies & has promised his cabinet he will not make any "major changes of direction". He will still represent the UK abroad & can continue to make public appointments or changes to his team of ministers. One of his final acts in office is likely to be awarding knighthoods & appointments to the House of Lords in his resignation honours list. 

 Johnson continues to remain to power, attributing the string of resignations in his government. It’s the kind of delusion that reminds of ex-Pakistan PM Imran Khan who had been ousted in this year & kept on peddling the theory that “foreign elements” played a role. But in Pakistan, it’s lucid who pulls the strings in politics — they aren’t foreign at all. Before Khan, Donald Trump also behaved in a similarly delusional manner, refusing to accept the results of the 2020 US presidential election — a dangerous flame that helped ignite the 26 January Capitol riot. A lot of ongoing engagements & negotiations of the political crisis in the UK are in limbo. This is both the challenge & opportunity confronting Labour – & the Lib Dems, re-emerging as a force in British politics. Britain needs a newly serious politics. Britain must strike out anew.