The end of the year is very complicated for Boris Johnson. Already politically weakened in particular by attacks from his own camp on his health policy, the British Prime Minister lost his Secretary of State in charge of Brexit, David Frost on Saturday evening, citing political disagreements.
After the information was revealed by the newspaper Mail on SundayDowning Street confirmed it by publishing the letter of resignation and the Head of Government’s response. This departure comes as the difficult negotiations with the European Union on the implementation of post-Brexit arrangements in Northern Ireland have not been completed. Boris Johnson said he was “sorry” for the resignation of David Frost, expressing his gratitude for the work he has done.
A lost by-election
Two years after his electoral triumph over the promise to achieve Brexit, Boris Johnson finds himself surrounded by scandals and this week suffered a sling from his camp over measures against Covid-19 and then the loss of a Conservative stronghold in the occasion of a by-election in England. A ballot triggered by the resignation of an elected official sanctioned for a lobbying affair, which Boris Johnson is accused of having wanted to protect, before backing down.
Lamenting that his resignation was leaked to the press, David Frost announced in his letter that it was effective immediately. According to Mail on Sunday, Boris Johnson had first succeeded in convincing him to stay until January. The newspaper points out that David Frost cited the new restrictions to fight the coronavirus, the tax hike and the policy followed to achieve carbon neutrality by 2050 to explain his departure.
“We deserve better than this buffoonery”
The Deputy Leader of the Labor opposition, Angela Rayner, reacted on Twitter by saying that the government was “in total chaos precisely when the country is going through weeks of uncertainty”. According to her, Boris Johnson “is not up to the task. We deserve better than this buffoonery ”. In the ranks of the majority, the deputy Andrew Bridgen considered that it was for Boris Johnson a “decisive moment”. “He must change or go,” he said on Times Radio. According to the site Conservative Home, influential in the majority, “it is impossible to interpret such an attack in order against the record of Boris Johnson other than as a cooperation, at least, with the attempts to bring down it”.
A supporter of a hard line against the European Union, David Frost led the negotiations for London with the European Union on the Brexit agreement and then its implementation, especially concerning the application of the controversial protocol on the North Ireland. The latter establishes a new customs regime for this British province, keeping it de facto in the single market and the European customs union.