Two of the most important ministers in Boris Johnson’s cabinet have just announced their resignation on Tuesday July 5, a decision which could threaten the political survival of the British Prime Minister already weakened by a series of scandals.
In a letter to Prime Minister Boris Johnson, Britain’s finance minister Rishi Sunak said he was “fundamentally too different in approach” with the latter in preparation for a joint speech on the economy due next week.
Sajid Javid had deplored earlier in the day a lack of support from public opinion and parliamentarians, while Boris Johnson narrowly overcame, last month, a procedure launched by members of his Conservative Party in view to dismiss him. “I regret to have to tell you (…) that it seems clear to me that the situation will not change under your leadership and that you have also lost my confidence,” Sajid Javid wrote in a statement posted on Twitter.
New sex scandal
Already weakened by scandals, Boris Johnson had been facing the resignation of a member of his government since Friday after accusations of touching, the latest in a series of sexual affairs in his party. In a resignation letter dated Thursday, Deputy Chief Whip Chris Pincher, responsible for parliamentary discipline for Tory MPs, admitted to having “drank way too much” and apologized for “shaming [him] and other people “.
According to several British media, the 52-year-old elected official touched two men on Wednesday evening – including an MP, according to Sky News – in front of witnesses in a private London club, the Carlton Club, resulting in complaints to the left.
The recent spate of sex-related affairs within the twelve-year ruling party is becoming embarrassing. An unnamed MP suspected of rape was arrested and then released on bail in mid-May, another resigned in April for watching pornography in the House on his mobile phone in April, and a former MP was sentenced in May to eighteen months in prison for the sexual assault of a 15-year-old boy.
The departure of the latter two had caused partial legislative elections and heavy defeats for the Conservatives, followed by the departure of party president Oliver Dowden.