On Friday, June 9th, Former UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson resigned as a member of Parliament just after learning that an investigation into his flouting of Covid-19 rules while he was in office would result in sanctions for the MP.
Johnson’s announcement represents a stunning fall from grace for the populist leader elected in a 2019 landslide to “get Brexit done.” It’s also created further turmoil in his Conservative party, already beset by chaos in the wake of Johnson’s resignation as prime minister last September. Though the government under Prime Minister Rishi Sunak hasn’t suffered the scandals of Johnson and his immediate successor Liz Truss’ tenures, the Tory party is widely unpopular, which is likely to affect the by-elections Johnson’s exit will trigger.
Johnson announced his resignation shortly after receiving a confidential report by the House of Commons Committee of Privileges investigating whether Johnson had lied to Parliament regarding the series of gatherings the then-Prime Minister and some of his staffers attended while the rest of the UK was in strict lockdown to prevent the spread of Covid-19.
In his resignation statement Friday, Johnson called the inquiry “a kangaroo court,” and said that the committee had “not produced a shred of evidence that I knowingly or recklessly misled the Commons” over what was quickly dubbed “Partygate.” Johnson also implied that the committee was attempting to push him out of Parliament, saying “Their purpose from the beginning has been to find me guilty, regardless of the facts.”
Johnson allies Nadine Dorries and Nigel Adams announced their resignations from Parliament with immediate effect shortly after the former prime minister. Dorries had previously stated that she did not plan to stand in the next general elections but moved her departure up following Johnson’s resignation. Adams, too, resigned in the wake of Johnson’s departure — meaning the government will have to…
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