UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson and his scandals: Is he resigning?
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Two UK ministers—Finance Minister Rishi Sunak and Health Secretary Sajid Javid—resigned on Tuesday, July 5, citing their disapproval of Prime Minister Boris Johnson. Within ten minutes of one another, both of them submitted their resignations, according to Firstpost.
According to the article, Sunak and Javid’s junior ministers and other allies also left their positions. After their resignations, Javid was replaced as the Health Minister by Steve Barclay, and Boris Johnson selected Nadhim Zahawi as the Finance Minister (Chancellor of the Exchequer).
According to numerous media reports, Johnson’s handling of the sexual misconduct claims against parliament member Chris Pincher may have contributed to the resignations. The allegations that the former congressman and deputy chief whip had groped two male colleagues led to his resignation last week. Since his resignation, however, further allegations have surfaced.
The UK’s Boris Johnson took part in Prime Minister’s Questions (PMQs) on Wednesday, July 6 in the House of Commons. In response to the 18 recent resignations, Johnson said:
“The role of a prime minister in trying times, when you’ve been given a huge mandate, is to keep going, and that’s what I’m going to do,” the prime minister said.
The scandals involving UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson
Since Johnson took over for the outgoing UK Prime Minister Theresa May in 2019, he has been at the centre of numerous scandals as he oversaw Brexit.
Johnson doesn’t seem inclined to step down from his position as prime minister of the United Kingdom, despite the recent controversies surrounding that position. That was made apparent by the 58-year-old during his aforementioned Prime Minister’s Questions (PMQs) on July 6 in the House of Commons.
Chris Pincher controversy
Allegations of sexual misbehaviour against former deputy chief whip Pincher are at the centre of the current scandal. Johnson appointed Pincher in February of this year, and the PM’s office later claimed that Johnson was not aware of the prior accusations made against the former Parliament member. Simon McDonald, a former senior civil servant, recently disclosed that he had looked into the allegations against Pincher in 2019 and that his findings appeared to support the charges.
Downing Street Flat refurbishment
The Conservative Party was fined £17,800 in December of last year for failing to disclose the use of a contribution to pay for the renovation of the Prime Minister’s official home in Downing Street. According to rumours, a celebrity designer utilised pricey wallpaper in the renovations, which were designed.
#PartyGate
After gatherings hosted by Boris Johnson and his conservative party with the spike in COVID cases, this political crisis developed. Some of these events purportedly took place in Johnson’s apartment on Downing Street.
Johnson allegedly attended a birthday celebration at Downing Street in June 2020, and he was penalised for violating COVID regulations as a result. The opposition at the time demanded his resignation, but Johnson disregarded their requests. He then gave a “full apologies.”
Later in April 2021, after it had been claimed that conservative party members had partied during Prince Philip’s burial, Boris Johnson was forced to apologise to Britain’s Queen Elizabeth II.
Owen Paterson
The dubious tactics of former Conservative MP Owen Paterson to campaign for businesses that had paid him were exposed in an exposé by The Guardian. Investigations revealed that Paterson had repeatedly promoted two companies while in his position.
The MP was suspended for 30 days by the Committee on Standard; however, in response to criticism, Paterson resigned. The election to fill his parliamentary seat was lost by the Conservative party.
Other charges of inappropriate behaviour by party members
Members of Boris Johnson’s Conservative party have been accused of sexual misconduct on several occasions. Legislators like Imran Ahmad Khan, who was convicted of sexually abusing a 15-year-old child, are among them. A second unnamed politician was detained after allegedly engaging in r*pe and assault-related activities.
It is unclear whether Boris Johnson will be expelled before he steps down given the scandals that are engulfing him and his party. The steadfast conservative leader, though, is probably going to stick it out until the end rather than taking the calls for his resignation seriously.
Ankita Khanrah
Ankita Khanrah is a second-year student of the Master of Communication and Journalism (Integrated) programme at the School of Mass Communication, KIIT Deemed University, Bhubaneswar.
