Great Britain: “The party is over”: Ex-Prime Minister Johnson resigns

With the resignation of ex-Prime Minister Boris Johnson as MP, the British Tory party is finally facing a crucial test. The former prime minister is directly challenging incumbent Rishi Sunak with the surprising move. “This is a de facto split in the Conservative Party,” David Campbell-Bannerman of the Conservative Democratic Organization, a vocal group within the party, told the BBC. “We will rally around Boris.” The public broadcaster commented that the ghost of Boris Johnson will continue to haunt Sunak and the Conservative Party.

The resignation out of the blue is typical of Boris Johnson. The 58-year-old announced on Friday that he would relinquish his parliamentary mandate with immediate effect. “The party’s over,” headlined The Times. In the same breath, the populist left a large window open. He is leaving the lower house “at least for the time being”.

The “Partygate” affair about illegal celebrations in Downing Street during lockdown times has finally caught up with the ex-Prime Minister and his party. A parliamentary committee, which includes several Tories, said Johnson lied to the House of Commons about the scandal. The proposed penalty: 10 days’ suspension – enough, in theory, to trigger a by-election in Johnson’s north-west London constituency. The ex-premier then threw it down, so there is now an automatic vote.

Sunak is considered a “king killer” in the party

Indirectly, Johnson hardly gave a good hair to his successor Sunak. When he left Downing Street in the summer of 2022 – pushed by his group after a series of scandals – the opposition Labor Party had only a small lead in the polls. It has now grown massively. Many party members see Sunak as a “kingslayer” who is responsible for Johnson’s end with his own resignation in July 2022.

The committee is investigating whether Johnson lied to Parliament over the Downing Street illegal lockdown party scandal – and has now apparently answered in the affirmative. During the corona pandemic, government workers had repeatedly met in Downing Street and authorities to celebrate with alcohol and music, contrary to regulations. Johnson and Sunak were each fined for attending an event. The ex-prime minister has now stressed that the committee had not presented a “snippet” of evidence of its misconduct.

Some Tories have joined with the opposition in a “witch hunt” against him in revenge for Brexit, Johnson claimed. The “anti-democratic” committee intended to find him guilty from the start. The letter was dripping with anger, commented the TV broadcaster Sky News. But it could have serious consequences for Prime Minister Sunak. Rumors are circulating in London that more MPs are preparing to resign. In times of poor Tory poll numbers, that would trigger by-elections.

“Tonight is deeply embarrassing for Rishi Sunak because since becoming Prime Minister he has tried to define himself as everything Boris Johnson was not,” writes the BBC. Sunak had promised transparency and responsibility.

Will “Boris” compete again in 2024?

But Johnson and cronies continue to dance around on his nose. Johnson is a political titan, said Johnson’s confidante Priti Patel. According to a survey, almost two-thirds of Tory voters continue to think positively about “Boris”, whom many still see as the only suitable candidate for the Tories. It cannot be ruled out that the beaming election winner of 2019 will run again in the parliamentary elections planned for 2024.

But there is some headwind for Johnson. In response to Johnson’s sweeping blow, the parliamentary committee said the ex-PM was undermining the integrity of the House of Commons. The report is to be published soon. “Not for a minute should you think this is the end of Boris Johnson,” commented BBC correspondent Chris Mason. In fact, it’s another day for what Johnson does best: making headlines.