According to Sky News, the outgoing prime minister held a private party at the luxurious Checkers country estate on Sunday. The government had previously declared a disaster due to the heat record expected for the beginning of next week and convened a meeting of the national crisis team Cobra. However, Johnson did not show up on Saturday.
Labor Party: “Zombie Government”
The deputy leader of the opposition Labor Party, Angela Rayner, spoke of a “zombie government” and called on Johnson to vacate his seat “if he is still unable to take responsibility”. A plan is needed to keep people safe at work, in traffic, in schools, hospitals and nursing homes in the face of the heat, Rayner said.
The British Weather Service has issued a red weather warning for Monday and Tuesday due to heat – for the first time ever. Up to 40 degrees Celsius are expected in large parts of England. The previous temperature record is 38.7 degrees and was measured in Cambridge in 2019.
Johnson resigned as party leader in early July under massive pressure from his parliamentary group and cabinet. He had previously struggled with one scandal after another – including because of banned lockdown parties at the government seat. However, he intends to remain in office until a successor is elected.
The selection process moves into another round on Monday when the five remaining candidates face a vote by Conservative Party faction members. The last place is out. The process continues until only two candidates remain. The Tory party members should then decide over the summer who will succeed Johnson as party leader and thus as prime minister.
In the competition for Johnson’s successor, the tone has intensified further over the weekend. Penny Mordaunt, Secretary of State for Commerce, who was popular with the conservative party base, was increasingly caught in the crossfire of her rivals. Criticism of her included accusations that she had gone too far in response to demands from trans rights activists. Mordaunt spoke of a smear campaign.
In addition to Mordaunt, four other candidates are currently in the running for the top office. The field of applicants is to be further reduced from five to two in several rounds of voting in the Tory parliamentary group by next Wednesday. In each round, the last-placed player is eliminated. After that, the party members call the shots.
Ex-Finance Minister Rishi Sunak is largely set for the final round. Secretary of State Liz Truss got the second most votes so far. But Mordaunt and the hitherto almost unknown MP Kemi Badenoch are also given a chance. The application of the chairman of the Foreign Affairs Committee, Tom Tugendhat, is considered less promising – although he is considered the best-placed candidate for an upcoming parliamentary election.
So far, the main topics have been the tax breaks promised by the candidates, how to deal with illegal immigrants and the position in the dispute over rights for trans people. Opposition politicians warned of an outbidding competition between right-wing conservative positions.
So far, climate change has hardly played a role. The president of the UN climate summit COP26, held in Glasgow, Scotland last year, Alok Sharma, did not want to rule out resignation if the future prime minister proves to be weak in pursuing climate goals.
Source: Nachrichten
