Boris Johnson has been dealt a serious blow, with both the Chancellor of the Exchequer Rishi Sunak and Health Secretary Sajid Javid resigning from his cabinet minutes after each other, potentially marking the beginning of the end of his time as Prime Minister.
Sajid Javid, the Secretary of State for Health, tweeted his letter of resignation at 6:02 on Tuesday evening, informing Johnson that he could no longer “in good conscience” continue serving in his government. While he declared his loyalty to Johnson as a friend, Javid declared that he must put the best interests of the country first.
“Conservatives at their best are seen as hard-headed decision-makers, guided by strong values,” Javid wrote. “We may not have always been popular, but we have been competent in acting in the national interest. Sadly, in the current circumstances, the public are concluding we are now neither,” he continued.
I have spoken to the Prime Minister to tender my resignation as Secretary of State for Health & Social Care.
It has been an enormous privilege to serve in this role, but I regret that I can no longer continue in good conscience. pic.twitter.com/d5RBFGPqXp
— Sajid Javid (@sajidjavid) July 5, 2022
Only nine minutes later, Rishi Sunak, the Chancellor of the Exchequer, also announced his resignation. “The public rightly expect government to be conducted properly, competently, and seriously,” Sunak said. “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,” he added.
However, rather than focusing on the loss of public support in polls, or the multiple scandals that have rocked Johnson’s leadership, Sunak said that he had to go because the Prime Minister and him had “fundamentally too different” approaches to fixing the current economic situation.
The public rightly expect 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.
My letter to the Prime Minister below. pic.twitter.com/vZ1APB1ik1
— Rishi Sunak (@RishiSunak) July 5, 2022
Following the major cabinet resignations, other more minor members of government and the Conservative party also quit. Conservative Vice Chair Bim Afolami resigned live on air on Talk TV, with Jonathan Gullis and Saqib Bhatti, two Parliamentary Private Secretaries announcing their resignations shortly after, along with the trade envoy to Morocco, Andrew Murrison.
One government source, speaking to LBC, even went so far as to declare that “it’s over” for Johnson.
BREAKING: Tory vice chair @BimAfolami has just resigned his position live on @TheNewsDesk. pic.twitter.com/ZJaXtvlW3A
— The News Desk (@TheNewsDesk) July 5, 2022
Other members of the Cabinet, including potential leadership challengers, such as Foreign Secretary Liz Truss, Justice Secretary and Deputy Prime Minister Dominic Raab, Home Secretary Priti Patel, and Defence Secretary Ben Wallace, have publicly declared their loyalty to Johnson.
Johnson is remaining “bullish” on his leadership, having told a meeting of 80 MPs that concluded following the major two resignations, suggesting that with Sunak gone, it would make “cutting taxes somewhat easier,” something the Spectator’s Katy Balls declared was meant to act as a “crowd-pleasing” message to the backbench MPs.
If the Prime Minister will not resign, then the only method of removing him would be via a vote of no-confidence. Johnson defeated such a vote just last month. Current rules means he is safe from another such vote until next year, although these can be changed.
Nigel Farage, the former MEP and leader of the Brexit Party, said on his primetime GB News show that the process of Johnson leaving was now “unstoppable” after the cabinet resignations, and it was “the beginning of the end” for him in office. However, if you believe in Brexit, it would not be a “disaster,” he argued.
“We had to get Brexit over the line, even if it was imperfect and not a great deal. He was the right man for that moment in 2019, but Boris Johnson is a cheerleader, not a leader,” Farage argued, saying that now was an opportunity for the party to “stop trying to be all things to all people, and stand up for the basic principles in which it believes.”
'Boris Johnson is a cheerleader, not a leader. He was never going to be suited for the responsibilities of high office.’
Nigel Farage says the Conservatives are heading for a '1997 style disaster at the next election' if they keep Boris Johnson.#FarageOnGBNews pic.twitter.com/XouPpwkJKH
— GB News (@GBNEWS) July 5, 2022
