5 JULY 2022 | NEWS
Health Secretary Savid Javid and Chancellor of the Exchequer Rishi Sunak have both tendered their resignations from Boris Johnson’s Cabinet this evening, within half an hour of one another.
The first to do so, Mr Javid, told the Prime Minister in his resignation letter, published on Twitter, that he could no longer, “in good conscience”, continue to serve in his Government.
Citing his belief that “Conservatives at their best are seen as hard-headed decision-makers, guided by strong values”, he continued that “the public are concluding we are now neither”. Informing the PM that he could not see how the present situation would “change under [his] leadership”, he added that for this reason, the latter had now “lost [his] confidence too”.
Mr Javid also concluded that, in his view, he had served Mr Johnson “loyally and as a friend, but we all serve the country first. When made to choose between those loyalties, there can only be one answer”.
Shortly thereafter, Mr Sunak also tendered his own resignation. He told the PM: “The public rightly expect government to be conducted, properly, competently and seriously”, adding that he believed those standards were “worth fighting for” and citing this as the reason for his resignation.
The now ex-Chancellor also added that his and the Prime Minister’s views on economic policy were “fundamentally too different”, concluding by writing that “we cannot continue like this”.
Both men were also keen to stress in their respective letters that they had both been “loyal” to the PM in the past.
The news broke very shortly after the Prime Minister had admitted to the BBC that he had been aware of a previous misconduct complaint against Chris Pincher – a formerly Conservative MP who had the whip removed last week after admitting to inappropriate behaviour at a private members’ club – and that it been a “bad mistake” to appoint him to a Government position in the first place. He proceeded to apologise for this.
It is believed in Westminster that it was this news in particular that has finally forced the former Chancellor’s and Health Secretary’s hand, though there is also some speculation that the two moves may have been co-ordinated.
The Leader of the Opposition, Sir Keir Starmer, said the Cabinet should act now to force the Prime Minister to resign.
He added: “After all the sleaze, the scandals and the failure, it’s clear that this Government is now collapsing. Tory Cabinet Ministers have known all along who this Prime Minister is.”
He added that they had all been “complicit” in the PM “disgrac[ing] his office. They have been his cheerleaders throughout this sorry saga.
“The British public will not be fooled. The Tory Party is corrupted and changing one man won’t fix that. Only a real change of government can give Britain the fresh start it needs,” he concluded.
Meanwhile, the Leader of the Liberal Democrats, Sir Ed Davey, has said the Prime Minister should “go and go now”, adding that he thought the latter had “disgraced our great country long enough”.
Downing Street has not yet commented on the resignations, nor has there yet been an official statement by Number 10 on the PM’s position.
However, it is being reported that Nadine Dorries, the present Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, has entered Number 10.
UPDATE: Andrew Murrison, the Prime Minister’s Trade Envoy to Morocco, has now also resigned and, in his letter, urged the PM to do the same. The Conservative Party Vice Chair, Bim Afolami, has since joined him and tendered his own resignation live on air.
FURTHER UPDATE: It is reportedly confirmed that Nadhim Zahawi, the present Education Secretary, will replace Rishi Sunak as Chancellor. Michelle Donelan will succeed him at Education. Steve Barclay is the be the new Health Secretary.
