Government crisis in London: Johnson continues to vehemently refuse to resign

Despite the demands of several cabinet members who talked to British Prime Minister Johnson in the evening, he continued to refuse to resign. Instead, he wants to focus on the “important problems” of the country.

British Prime Minister Boris Johnson is still vehemently opposed to stepping down, despite calls from a number of cabinet members, according to media reports. Accordingly, he referred to “enormously important problems that the country is facing”.

A delegation of cabinet members had visited him in his Downing Street office in the evening to urge his resignation. Britain’s PA news agency reported that some of his closest cabinet cronies had urged Johnson to resign. Among them is said to have been Finance Minister Nadhim Zahawi, who was only appointed to his post on Tuesday. His predecessor, Rishi Sunak, had resigned from office just hours earlier in protest at Johnson’s leadership style.

Transport Secretary Grant Shapps is said to have also belonged to the delegation. The previously ultra-loyal Home Secretary Priti Patel, Economics Secretary Kwasi Kwarteng and Building and Housing Secretary Michael Gove are also said to have opposed Johnson. Johnson reportedly fired the latter from the cabinet in the evening. Gove was considered one of the biggest heavyweights in the British Cabinet. He had already campaigned alongside Johnson in the 2016 election campaign for the Brexit referendum.

Around three dozen conservative MPs had resigned from their government and party offices since Tuesday.

Johnson in “good mood”

However, according to an agency report, Johnson continued to reject proposals for a “dignified exit” and chose to fight for his political future. The news agency quoted Johnson, citing someone close to him, as saying otherwise the country would be thrown into chaos and the Conservatives would be punished at the next general election.

As the broadcaster Sky News reports, Johnson wants to present a plan for the economy together with his new finance minister Nadhim Zahawi on Thursday. Citing one of Johnson’s employees, it was also said that the prime minister was in “good spirits” and would “keep fighting”.

Johnson reacts defiantly

Health Minister Sajid Javid and Finance Minister Rishi Sunak resigned on Tuesday in protest against Johnson. This damages the reputation of the Conservatives.

Javid had called on his cabinet colleagues in the British House of Commons that afternoon to also resign. He indirectly called for the overthrow of Johnson. “Doing nothing is an active choice,” says Javid. “Those of us who are in a position to do so have a responsibility to make a difference. The BBC put the number of resignations since Tuesday at 38.

But when questioned by the parliamentary committee in the afternoon, Johnson vehemently refused to resign. “I’m not resigning,” Johnson said. Addressing his critics, he said they underestimated the ambitions of himself and his comrades-in-arms. The government has a plan and wants to go ahead.

An apology that probably wasn’t enough

The trigger for the political quake was that Johnson heaved the Conservative MP Chris Pincher into an important parliamentary group office – even though he was aware of allegations of sexual harassment. The ministerial resignations come minutes after Johnson apologized on Tuesday night for making Pincher Deputy Secretary of Parliament.

Pincher resigned late last week. It became known that there had been allegations against him in the past. A government spokesman initially denied that Johnson knew about the old allegations against Pincher. That line of defense collapsed on Tuesday after a senior former official said Johnson had been briefed on an incident in 2019. Opposition MPs and some Tories then accused the prime minister of lying.

New no-confidence vote?

With Johnson’s refusal to resign, the only option left is to change Tory party rules to launch another no-confidence vote in Johnson and oust the prime minister. It is expected that this could happen next Monday The Tory party leader narrowly survived a no-confidence vote in his group just a month ago. Under Tory party rules, no new attempt may be made for 12 months after the vote. According to his spokeswoman, he wants to rise to the challenge. Johnson is unlikely to survive another vote of no confidence given the growing criticism within his party.