UK Prime Minister Resigned After Conservative Party Rebellion

Bridgette Randall
07 Jul, 2022
New York City

British Prime Minister Boris Johnson resigned after more ministers quit his cabinet. 

Only after three years in office, Johnson was forced to resign as more ministers quit following several policy missteps and a series of scandals. 

The calls for Johnson's resignation grew louder after Chancellor of Exchequer Rishi Sunak and Health Secretary Sajid Javid tendered their resignation on Tuesday. 

Finance minister Rishi Sunak resigned after the latest scandal rocked Downing Street involving Tory deputy chief Chris Pincher. 

Last week Pincher resigned from the government over allegations that he groped two men at a private member's club. 

"The public rightly expect the government to be conducted properly, competently and seriously.

 I recognise this may be my last ministerial job, but I believe these standards are worth fighting for and that is why I am resigning.," said Sunak in a letter published on his twitter account. 

"It has been an enormous privilege to serve in this role, but I regret that I can no longer continue in good conscience," Health Secretary of State & Social Care Sajid Javid tendered his resignation and said in a letter submitted to prime minister Johnson and published on twitter. 

More junior ministers resigned yesterday and several party members urged Johnson to resign. 

The drama reached a new high after the newly appointed finance minister Nadhim Zahawi urged Johnson to resign. 

In 2016, Boris Johnson played a key role during the Brexit campaign  that many say misled the British public and raised false hopes of better economic prospects outside the European Union and the scare of rising immigration from the Middle East. 

The U.K.-EU relationship hit a new low after Johnson sought to rewrite the terms of Brexit and renege on the promises related to trade with Northern Ireland. 

Johnson's administration placed some of the stringent sanctions on Russia and Russians after the country invaded Ukraine. 

The Kremlin did not miss the opportunity and shot back after Johnson's sudden fall from power and his unceremonious departure. 

"He doesn't like us, we don't like him either," Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said just before Johnson announced his resignation.  

Boris Johnson, often invoking former prime minister and Conservative Party leader Churchill, offered vocal support to Ukraine and exhorted Ukrainians to fight the Russian aggression but rarely promoted a peaceful settlement. 

The U.K. has provided less than 5% of military and arms support to Ukraine in its fight against Russia. 

Just as Churchill led the U.K. into a disastrous war with Germany engulfing the whole world, Johnson advocated war with Russia on ideological grounds. 

Boris Johnson has opposed any peaceful solution between Russia and Ukraine. 

"Let me say now to the people of Ukraine, we in the UK will continue to back  your fight for freedom for as long as it takes," Johnson said while delivering his speech.  

Russian tycoon and billionaire Oleg Deripaska, who is close to the Kremlin, has opposed the war from the start and urged a peaceful solution with Ukraine. 

Deripaska spoke for many Russians and people around the world when he posted his short statement on his Telegram channel. 

"The inglorious end of the "inglorious stupid clown" who is responsible for tens of thousands of lives in this senseless conflict in Ukraine," Russian billionaire tycoon Oleg Deripaska. 

Boris Johnson rose to power after his vocal support for Brexit in 2016, leaving the European Union, and led Conservative Party to a historic win of 80-seat majority in the 2019 elections. 

However, his administration failed to capitalize on the British public's desire of speedy and total separation from the European Union. 

Even after three years in office, Johnson has not completed Brexit negotiations with the European Union casting a pall over the economy and the pound. 

With no clear front runner for the highest office in the U.K., the divided Conservative Party may take several weeks before a new leader is selected. 

The British pound jumped 0.4% against the U.S. dollar to $1.197 and the 10-year U.K. government bond rose to 2.136%.