2023-06-10 12:40:33
Boris Johnson is no longer an MP. The former British Prime Minister handed over his mandate on Friday evening 9, invoking the parliamentary inquiry into the « partygate », parties held in Downing Street in breach of Covid-19 restrictions. Boris Johnson has indicated that his decision is effective immediately, triggering a by-election which puts an immediate end to any prospect of return. His resignation also highlights the divisions within the conservative power, aggravating the difficulties of his successor Rishi Sunak one year from the theoretical date of the next legislative elections.
A ” procedure against me to expel me from Parliament”
A year after being ousted from Downing Street by his majority after a succession of scandals, Boris Johnson remains under the scope of a parliamentary inquiry to determine whether he knowingly misled Parliament in the affair of the « partygate ». A parliamentary inquiry must say whether Boris Johnson lied by repeatedly claiming that all health restrictions had been respected in Downing Street.
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The procedure, led by the privileges commission, is in the process of finishing its work and had just, according to the British press, submitted its conclusions to the former leader. “I have received a letter from the Privileges Committee which makes it clear – to my astonishment – that they are determined to use the procedure against me to oust me from Parliament”wrote the former Conservative Prime Minister in a press release. “I am very sad to leave Parliament – at least for now – but above all I am appalled that I have been forced to leave, in an undemocratic way”he added, accusing the commission of “blatant bias”.
In March, heard for more than three hours by the commission, Boris Johnson had affirmed ” The hand on the heart “ that he had not lied to Parliament. The former leader, who is about to celebrate his 59th birthday and have his eighth child, has not hidden his desire to return to power, even if he has converted by giving conferences which bring him millions . As he points out in his Friday evening statement, his resignation triggers an immediate by-election.
“Our party must urgently regain its momentum”
The Prime Minister Rishi Sunak, in office since October, will thus find himself facing electoral tests which promise to be difficult at a time when the Conservatives are at their lowest in the polls, after 13 years in power. At the beginning of May, the Conservatives had already suffered significant losses in local elections in England. In his press release, Boris Johnson will curry the current power. “When I left office last year, the government was only a handful of points behind in the polls. This gap has now widened considerably.he wrote. “Just a few years after winning the largest majority in nearly half a century (his election in 2019, editor’s note), this majority is now clearly threatened”he criticizes. “Our party urgently needs to regain momentum and faith in what this country can do”.
Labor’s Angela Rayner was quick to react on Twitter. “As Boris Johnson steps down in disgrace, Britons are fed up with this endless Tory soap opera playing out at their expense”. And to add: “After thirteen years of Conservative chaos, enough is enough. It’s time for a fresh start for Britain with a Labor government’.
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