The critical moments that cornered Boris Johnson since the Downing Street parties were discovered while incarcerated
Cameron, May and now Johnson. News of the British Prime Minister’s resignation rounds off the trio of resignations of the last Downing Street leaders, all members of the Conservative party. Since the first, in 2016, the UK government has been in a critical situation led by Brexit and hit by crises such as the coronavirus or the war in Ukraine. But of all the falls, Johnson’s seems to be the most abrupt and outspoken, kicking off thanks to a historic outright majority in 2019, and crashing into a series of controversies surrounding Johnson that have led to the resignation of 38 British government officials in less than 24 hours.
Controversies that have precipitated him:
– The first of the scandals came in October 2021, when Owen Paterson, Member of Parliament (MP) for North Shropshire, used his post on behalf of two companies for which he worked as a consultant. The compensation for this aid, apart from his parliamentary salary, amounted to more than 100,000 euros. Therefore, Paterson was forced to resign in November, resulting in a scandal over the Conservative Party and over the Johnson administration.
– That same month, before the Confederation of British Industry, the Prime Minister delivered a speech in which his leadership in the party was a vital part of it, culminating in his theatrical statements about a Peppa Pig theme park that fell on deaf ears, in addition to his own comparison with Moisés and an onomatopoeia the politician made of an electric car. A speech that really confused those in attendance and Johnson himself, who even stopped the speech to reorganize his words.
– At its conclusion, one of the most prominent controversies arose since the English medium ‘Daily Mirror’ revealed the Christmas celebration held in 2020 at the British leader’s residence, during the imprisonment imposed by the Conservative government as a result of the pandemic. This measure included the ban on Christmas parties, and the December 24th was not the only one of those months, according to the BBC.
– In December, the controversy centered on former Downing Street spokeswoman Allegra Stratton. The television network ITV showed some footage showing a rehearsal of a press conference by the politician’s former press secretary, with rather controversial statements about the aforementioned Christmas party. In it, he humorously explained that that event was actually a business dinner and that social distancing was not respected. The next day, Stratton called on the media to apologize, declaring that “this event should not have happened at the time,” to resign from his post after the performance was completed. Johnson expressed his anger at the posted video and condemned the network for it.
– The troubles did not stop for the Conservative party, as the next day, December 9, 2021, news broke that they had been fined for not disclosing a donation of about 79,000 euros. These were sent by a company owned by a former Tory leader and used to renovate the Prime Minister’s house. From then on, the situation reached a border state and led to a rift between the Prime Minister and several representatives of the British Chamber.
– Meetings of the courts in the United Kingdom changed course and turned against Boris Johnson. Days after this scandal, MPs against Johnson’s proposed measures grew exponentially, reaching 100 votes against the sanitation restrictions. In the end, the Prime Minister achieved his goal thanks to the support of the Labor Party, but it was a Pyrrhic victory in the support of the politician at the external and internal levels. In addition, a short time later the party lost its seat in the aforementioned area of North Shropshire, which had hitherto been under Tory rule. It also highlights the resignation of the cabinet member appointed to investigate the controversial parties after discovering a party had taken place in his own office; and of the politician appointed to negotiate Brexit, which violated restrictions imposed by Johnson.
– At the end of December, the public was able to learn more details about other events held by the British government during the worst months of the Covid-19 crisis. ‘The Guardian’ first published a photo of several members of the party tasting wine and cheese at a party held in May 2020, in the midst of detention. In addition, the television channel ITV reported on another appointment that was on Johnson’s agenda at the time, which included 100 people at a party with alcoholic drinks.
– In January 2022, the politician experienced his first government scrutiny session in which he apologized after previously denying his involvement in the events seven times, but avoided all questions related to the parties. From then on, the PvdA asked for his head and the party’s internal tensions began to become apparent. All this culminated in the vote of censure tabled in June by some members of the Conservative party, in which Johnson managed to keep his post with a meager result: 211 votes in favor and 148 against the ‘Prime Minister’.
– The last straw came in February, after the appointment of former Secretary of State for Europe and America as parliamentary treasurer Christopher Pincher. The thing is, months later, several reports came out stating that Pincher allegedly went too far with several men in a private club, in a deep state of inebriation. In addition, years earlier, the politician had already had a similar event with an Olympic rower. This led to another resignation, with their respective apologies, in the Conservative Party in early June.
This wouldn’t be a new controversy as it triggered the fall of the ‘tory’ dominoes. Economy Minister Rishi Sunak, Health Minister Sajid Javid, two of the most respected politicians on Johnson’s team, announced their resignation last Tuesday. These dismissals were soon joined by those of other colleagues: Will Quince, Deputy Undersecretary of State for Families and Third in the Ministerial Order, Private Parliamentary Secretaries and Trade Envoys. The sum of Conservative party members who have left their posts has reached 38, and other ‘tories’ such as the housing secretary, Michael Gove, took advantage of this moment to ask the prime minister to resign because ” the match had reached the end”. his finish”.
Source: La Verdad
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