The British finance and health ministers resigned on the evening of Tuesday July 5, a dramatic demonstration of their weariness in the face of repeated scandals shaking the government of Prime Minister Boris Johnson.
“The public legitimately expects the government to be conducted competently and seriously”, Finance Minister Rishi Sunak, 42, said in his resignation letter posted on Twitter. A few minutes earlier, Health Minister Sajid Javid, 52, had also announced his resignation, explaining that he no longer had confidence in Boris Johnson.
Il “it is clear to me that the situation is not going to change under your leadership – and therefore you have lost my trust”wrote Sajid Javid in his resignation letter also posted on Twitter.
A new scandal
The resignations come amid a new scandal involving Prime Minister Boris Johnson’s government: the resignation of « whip » Deputy Chief Chris Pincher, in charge of parliamentary discipline for Tory MPs, accused of sexual touching by several men.
Chris Pincher, a close friend of Boris Johnson, had admitted last week to having “too much drunk” and be “covered with shame, (him) and other people” in a private club. He had to resign from his post but remained a deputy.
The scandal too many
Downing Street’s evolving response to this new crisis had been the subject of much criticism. Downing Street first announced that Boris Johnson was unaware of older allegations against Chris Pincher when he appointed him to the post last February.
But further revelations showed he knew as far back as 2019, when he was foreign secretary, and on Tuesday Boris Johnson finally said the appointment of Chris Pincher “was a mistake” and apologized.
This new scandal has apparently been one scandal too many for the two ministers, when last month Boris Johnson narrowly survived a vote of no confidence from Conservative MPs, more than 40% of whom voted against him.