Former British Prime Minister Boris Johnson has announced his resignation from parliament, citing a “stitch-up” by political opponents. Johnson has been under investigation by a cross-party committee over whether he lied to parliament about COVID lockdown-breaking parties while in office. As the committee prepares to make public its findings, Johnson claimed they had contacted him “making it clear … they are determined to use the proceedings against me to drive me out of parliament”. By quitting, Johnson avoids the consequences of suspension and a by-election in his Uxbridge and South Ruislip seat in northwest London where he holds a slim majority of just over 7,000.
Johnson denounced the committee as a “kangaroo court” and claimed their report was “riddled with inaccuracies and reeks of prejudice”. The privileges committee, which has a majority of MPs from his own Conservative Party, responded to the resignation by saying Johnson “impugned the integrity of the House by his statement”. Johnson loyalist Nadine Dorries also quit as an MP, meaning current Prime Minister Rishi Sunak faces two by-elections as his party languishes in the polls.
Johnson’s ability to generate strong feelings of admiration or hate was reflected in the reactions to his shock announcement. Labour’s Deputy Leader Angela Rayner said the public had had enough of the “never-ending Tory soap opera” while her opposite number with the smaller Liberal Democrats, Daisy Cooper, said it was “good riddance”. Patrick Diamond, a former policy adviser to the Labour Party, said that Johnson’s statement indicated that he may be laying the ground for a future comeback, particularly if the Conservatives are heavily defeated at the next election.
Johnson led the Conservatives to a thumping 80-seat majority in the December 2019 general election on a promise to “get Brexit done”. That allowed him to railroad through parliament his split with the European Union, unblocking years of political paralysis. But he was undone by his handling of the COVID pandemic, “Partygate” and a succession of other scandals that led to a ministerial rebellion in July last year. He quit as prime minister and left office last September, though rumours persisted that he wanted another shot at the top job.
Sunak, who was one of Johnson’s top team who quit, has been trying to steady the ship since becoming prime minister in October, after the turbulent tenure of his former boss and the short-lived premiership of Liz Truss. Johnson’s resignation will likely be seen as his revenge on Sunak, whose Conservatives are well down in the polls with a general election looming next year. “When I left office last year the government was only a handful of points behind in the polls. That gap has now massively widened,” Johnson said in his letter, lashing out at Sunak.
Johnson became an MP in 2001 until 2008, then quit to serve two four-year terms as London’s mayor. He became an MP again in 2015, going on to be foreign secretary under Theresa May’s government. Johnson’s resignation has sparked fevered speculation about his and the current government’s future. Al Jazeera’s Rory Challands, reporting from Westminster, said Johnson, with his move, threw a grenade right into the heart of Rishi Sunak’s government, “sending shards of political shrapnel in all directions”. “Speculation at the moment is about how much damage this is going to do to the Conservative Party,” he said.
In conclusion, Boris Johnson’s resignation from parliament has sent shockwaves through the UK political landscape. The former prime minister’s departure comes amid an investigation into whether he lied to parliament over COVID lockdown-breaking parties while in office. Johnson has denounced the investigation as a “kangaroo court” and claimed their report was “riddled with inaccuracies and reeks of prejudice”. His resignation has sparked fevered speculation about his and the current government’s future, with many wondering if he will make a comeback in the future. Meanwhile, current Prime Minister Rishi Sunak faces two by-elections as his party languishes in the polls with a general election looming next year.