A man protests against Boris Johnson this Wednesday. The 22 refers to the 1922 Committee, an internal body of the Conservative Party /
The cascade of resignations in the British Government in recent hours joins the ‘Partygate’ scandal, which for months has haunted the Prime Minister
Boris Johnson has reached the end of his particular career at the head of the British Government. The controversial leader has been in the spotlight for months over illegal party scandals during the worst of the coronavirus pandemic. The resignation of fifty high and middle positions of his Executive for a sexual scandal, as well as the pressure of the deputies of his own party, has left him no choice but to resign. These are some of the events that in recent months have led Johnson to this impasse.
The ‘Partygate’: sprees during the pandemic
The scandal known as ‘Partygate’, the celebration of parties at number 10 Downing Street, headquarters of the Executive, and other government facilities, jumps to the press in November 2021. Scotland Yard initiates a police investigation. An internal investigation is also commissioned, by senior official Sue Gray.
The government’s reaction was clear: close ranks with the premier. Johnson defended himself over and over again in parliament, denying the facts. According to him, the rules had been followed “at all times.” However, a trickle of leaks in the form of videos and images of the illegal parties expose the lies of the prime minister and his government. Over the following months there are several positions that leave the Executive due to the scandal.
In January 2022, a preview of Gray’s report is made public, highlighting that 10 Downing Street violated the rules of the pandemic and points out “leadership failures”. In April, a parliamentary commission investigates whether the prime minister lied to deputies.
In May, Scotland Yard announces the conclusion of its investigation, having issued a total of 126 fines to 83 people. At the end of that month, Gray’s report is made public. The document urges the country’s leaders to take responsibility for the infractions committed during the confinement. In early June, Johnson survived a motion of censure from his own party for these events. His leadership is very damaged.
sex scandal
A few weeks later, a new scandal, this time of a sexual nature, shakes the Government. One of Johnson’s most loyal Conservative deputies, Chris Pincher, is suspended from the parliamentary group while charges are being investigated that he tried to grope two colleagues at a drunken evening at the Carlton Club, an elite society. He is the fifth Conservative lawmaker to face allegations of misconduct so far this year.
On this occasion, the scandal is that Downing Street – and specifically Boris Johnson – was aware of the accusations against Pincher before entrusting him with the important role of deputy in the control of the conservative parliamentary group. The opposition criticized Johnson’s delay in sanctioning to his faithful collaborator. However, the Executive denied over and over again that he knew anything about the matter.
It was the spike. At the beginning of this week, a cascade of resignations of high and middle positions in the Executive – around fifty – became a bloodletting impossible to stop. Several deputies publicly called for the resignation of the premier, who barricaded himself in Downing Street until the pressure was unbearable. Thus ends three years of mandate marked by Brexit and continuous scandals.