Maneuvers began on Friday to replace British Prime Minister Boris Johnson after his resignation sparked by an unprecedented political crisis, but his intent to take over Downing Street until his successor is appointed has his critics calling for his immediate departure want, shy away.
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Mr Johnson resigned on Thursday, being dropped by the Conservative Party, which has been exhausted by the repeated scandals that have marked the charismatic former Brexit hero’s 2 years and 349 days in power. Between Tuesday and Thursday, around 60 members of his government, ministers, foreign ministers and other staff with lesser responsibilities had resigned following a new scandal, leaving him no other choice.
His decision to stay in power to ensure an interim that could last until the fall continued to spook Friday as the country grappled with record inflation of 9%, the worst of the G7 countries, and a rise in social movements in the Context of the war is faced in Ukraine.
Mr Johnson “is a proven liar who has drowned in corruption, we cannot go on like this for two more months,” said Labor Deputy Leader of the Opposition Angela Rayner, calling for the appointment of an acting prime minister on the BBC. “If they don’t, we are very clear that we will table a motion of no confidence before the parliamentary recess,” she added on Sky News on July 22.
However, Mr Johnson’s spokesman ruled out that Deputy Prime Minister Dominic Raab would take over as an interim. “The Prime Minister is acting in accordance with the Convention. He will remain prime minister until a new party leader is in place and government work will continue during that time,” he told reporters.
On Thursday, former Conservative Prime Minister John Major (1990-1997) said it was “reckless and perhaps unacceptable” for Boris Johnson to stay in Downing Street “longer than necessary”.
Newly appointed Education Secretary James Cleverly has given assurances that the process of appointing the new Conservative leader will be “professional but swift”. However, some elected officials fear a chaotic summer.
Following his resignation, Mr Johnson gave assurances that his hastily restored government (12 ministers and secretaries of state were appointed on Thursday) would not seek to implement new policies or make major changes. The big budget decisions will be left to the next prime minister in particular.
The race for the successor is particularly open.
The 1922 Committee, a conservative faction, plans to announce details of the procedure on Monday. The appointment of the new leader of the party that is set to become Prime Minister, the party that has a majority in the House of Commons, has to come ahead of the party’s annual congress on October 2 in Birmingham.
Without waiting, MP Tom Tugendhat, chairman of the Foreign Affairs Committee in Parliament, has already announced himself as a candidate in the daily newspaper The Telegraph. Attorney General Suella Braveman has also publicly expressed interest.
Among the candidates approached, the most suitable Secretary of Defense would be Ben Wallace. Next are former Chancellor of the Exchequer Rishi Sunak, whose resignation sparked Tuesday’s hemorrhage of departures, Foreign Trade Secretary Penny Mordaunt, Foreign Secretary Liz Truss and former Health Secretary Sajid Javid.
And already the knives are out: Jacob Rees-Mogg, loyal to Boris Johnson, whose Secretary for Brexit Opportunities he is, launched an attack in good standing on Friday against Mr Sunak, whose resignation would have infuriated Boris Johnson. “Rishi Sunak failed as Chancellor of the Exchequer. He was a high-tax chancellor who was unaware of the problem of inflation,” he told Channel 4 television.
A majority of Brits (56%) would like the transition period to be handled by someone else, according to a YouGov poll. 77% think Boris Johnson was right to quit.
In announcing his resignation, Mr Johnson, 58, had no word for the hemorrhage of unprecedented departures he had recorded in 48 hours or the turbulence of his tenure and allegations that exposed his lies and lack of integrity.
He said he was “enormously proud” of his record, referring in particular to Brexit, the anti-COVID vaccination campaign and his support for Ukraine, and denounced the “powerful herd instinct” in Westminster, a direct attack on those who had left him en masse.