Measures to have Prime Minister Boris Johnson step down from his position have proceeded across the government, as ministers declare their cabinet resignation. Many have outlined their lack of faith in the Prime Minister due to controversies he has been involved with and the state of British politics leaving members divided.
Starting with Sajid Javid and Rishi Sunak – two very significant figures to PM Boris Johnson’s government – ministers and parliament members alike have described their setbacks to continue to work in the cabinet, stating the PM has lost both the people’s and the party’s confidence, and that the UK has faced too many hardships, such as inflation, COVID-19, struggles with the NHS and more.
The resignations were significantly provoked by the PM’s hiring of former Deputy chief whip Chris Pincher, who has been accused of groping two men at a private member’s club in London last week, who has now too, resigned.
However, over the last few years of governing the country, the PM has had his fair share of controversies and callouts. For instance, his handling of COVID-19 and its policies, where he reportedly stated he would rather see bodies “piled high” than order a third national lockdown – as well as his reluctance to wear a face mask in Parliament. Additional COVID criticism also came when he failed to attend a series of five Cobra meetings in early 2020 just as the virus was beginning to spread, as well as his lack of action with Dominic cummings when he broke COVID rules.
COVID scandals in UK politics are many, but more than 170,000 UK deaths did reside on Boris Johnson’s poorly timed COVID policies and practices. Experts have noted that thousands more died than would have done had the PM had not hesitated over setting lockdown for a week in March 2020. Ex-aide Dominic Cummings stated that the PM was consistently anti-lockdown, ignored scientific advice and failed to take the pandemic seriously for a while.