By: Sophia Rathleff
Foreword from the writer in light of current circumstance
This article was written before the Russian invasion of Ukraine, and before the invasion even seemed certain. In light of those events it is in general opinion that the Conservative Party has no right nor plausible sense to oust Prime Minister Boris Johnson. An unstable political situation would definitely be the most idiotic and unuseful thing to place themselves in at this time. In a way, Boris Johnson has been saved at the last minute by this unspeakable tragedy. Europe’s peace has been broken, without this the Prime minister would most likely be out of his job. So, with all things, I urge you to read this with context.
By now many have seen the “great resignation” being coined for younger workers leaving jobs at mass. However, MP’s under Prime Minister Boris Johnson’s administration are getting involved. Ironically, for a common reason, a bad boss.
The Prime Minister is under scrutiny for multiple perceived breaches of COVID-19 restrictions. It was sparked by a leaked video where members of the PM’s cabinet were joking about a christmas party in 2020. The video garnered controversy as the events took place at a time when the government had not only banned families meeting for the holiday, but from visiting dying loved ones in the hospital or holding funerals. Outrage justifyingly erupted throughout the UK, from Parliament to the public.
It led to the PM backtracking and changing his story from “there was no party and that no COVID rules were broken" to “nobody told me'' about the rules that he made. The lack of consistency was immediately picked up by parliament, Johnson created his own weapon against him. Weeks of scrutiny ensued in Parliament brandishing a cacophony of calls to resign.
As a result, Metropolitan police opened an official investigation into 12 separate events at Number 10 Downing Street and Whitehall. The PM is rumoured to have attended 6 over the course of 2020 and 2021, including the infamous “Bring you brown booze” party of May 2020. Though the Met have not (as of 20/2/22) released their report, it is an apparent breach of the rules the Prime Minister’s party created.
It brings the question of the likelihood of a vote of no confidence for Johnson. Known for being ruthless in their removal of problematic leaders, the Conservative Party is clearly leaning towards ousting Boris Johnson. A vote of no confidence is where letters are submitted by MPs to the 1922 backbench committee, led by Sir Graham. A threshold of 50% of Mps (in this administration's case 54 people) have to submit a letter of no confidence. If this is breached then the vote will be held to see if the PM can gain 50% of the vote. If not, Johnson will essentially be fired.
As of the 3rd of February, 17 MPs have submitted their letters and one MP, Christian Wakeford, defected to labour. This is a long way off the requirements and with the changing international climate, it would be difficult to see how it would be reached. Altogether, Johnson has put himself in a complicated situation, and the British public can only hope he is held accountable. To the people who have lost their own, imagine the betrayal and sadness they are feeling after Johnson's actions. This situation presents an image with stark contrasts, the Prime Minister was boozing it up at work, whilst his citizens grappled with the pain of being unable to bury or visit their loved ones. Frankly, such despicable and malicious conduct is more than enough grounds for parliamentary reprehension. Prime Minister Boris Johnson should be outright ashamed of himself.
Sources:
Comments