Global Courant
LONDON — Former British Prime Minister Boris Johnson shocked Britain on Friday by stepping down as a legislator after being told he will face punishment for defrauding parliament. He left with a savage diatribe against his political opponents – and against his successor, Rishi Sunak – which could explode tensions within the ruling Conservative Party.
Johnson resigned after receiving the results of an investigation by lawmakers into misleading statements he made to parliament about “partygate,” a series of rule-breaking government parties during the COVID-19 pandemic.
In a lengthy resignation statement, Johnson accused opponents of trying to drive him out — and hinted that his rollercoaster political career may not be over.
“It is very sad to leave parliament – at least for now,” he said.
Johnson, 58, said he had “received a letter from the Privileges Committee making it clear – to my surprise – that they are determined to use the procedure against me to drive me out of parliament.”
He called the committee investigating him – which has members from both government and opposition parties – a “kangaroo court”.
“From the start, their goal was to find me guilty, regardless of the facts,” Johnson said.
The resignation will trigger a special election to replace Johnson as legislator for a suburban seat in the London House of Commons.
Johnson, whose career has seen a series of scandals and comebacks, led the Conservatives to a landslide victory in 2019, but was forced out by his own party less than three years later.
He awaited the outcome of an investigation by a House of Commons standards committee into misleading statements he made to parliament about a slew of meetings in government buildings in 2020 and 2021 that violated pandemic lockdown rules.
Police eventually issued 126 fines for late-night soirees, boozy parties and wine time Fridays, including one to Johnson, and the scandal helped hasten the end of his premiership.
Johnson has admitted to misleading Parliament when he assured lawmakers no rules had been broken, but said he did not do so intentionally.
He told the committee he “honestly believed” the five events he attended, including a farewell party for a staff member and his own surprise birthday party, were “legitimate work gatherings” designed to boost morale among overworked staff who had died with a fatal pandemic to deal with.
The committee was expected to publish its report in the coming weeks, and Johnson could have been suspended from the House of Commons if it was found that he had deliberately lied.
By quitting, he avoids a suspension that could have seen him removed from his seat in the House of Commons by his constituents, which could free him up to run for parliament again in the future. His resignation statement suggested he was considering that option. It was highly critical of Sunak, who served as chief of treasury in Johnson’s government before abandoning ship with many other colleagues in July 2022 – resignation that forced Johnson to leave.
Johnson was targeting Sunak, who had been elected by the Conservatives in October to keep the government stable after the terms of Johnson and his short-serving successor Liz Truss, who resigned after six weeks when her tax-cut policies sparked financial turmoil.
Johnson claimed that “when I left office last year, the government was only a handful of points behind in the polls. That gap has now widened enormously.”
Conservative opinion polls fell during the turbulent final months of Johnson’s term and have not recovered. Opinion polls regularly give the opposition Labor Party a lead of 20 points or more. National elections are to be held at the end of 2024.
“Just a few years after winning the largest majority in nearly half a century, that majority is now clearly at risk,” Johnson said. “Our party urgently needs to regain its sense of momentum and its belief in what this country can do.”
Johnson resigned hours after King Charles III awarded dozens of his loyal aides and allies with knighthoods and other honors, a political tradition for former prime ministers that provoked favoritism from opponents of the deposed leader.
Johnson’s dramatic exit is the latest – but perhaps not the last – chapter in a career of extremes. The crumpled populist with Hispanic lips and a mop of blond hair had held important positions, including Mayor of London, but also spent periods on the political sidelines before Britain’s exit from the European Union propelled him to the top.
Johnson’s bullish boosterism helped convince 52% of Britons to vote to leave the EU, and he was elected prime minister in 2019 on a vow to “get Brexit done”.
He was less suited to the hard work of governing, and the pandemic — which left Johnson in intensive care with COVID-19 — posed a major challenge. The Johnson government won praise for its rapid vaccine roll-out, but the UK also had one of the highest coronavirus death tolls in Europe and some of the longest lockdowns.
The final straw came when details emerged of parties being held at Johnson’s Downing Street office and home while the country was on lockdown. “Partygate” sparked outrage and ultimately prompted the Conservative Party to oust its election-winning but erratic leader.
Angela Rayner, deputy leader of the opposition Labor party, reacted to Johnson’s resignation with: “enough is enough.”
“The British public is sick and tired of this never-ending Tory soap being played at their expense,” she said.
