U.K., scandal-ridden Prime Minister Boris Johnson shocked many as he announced his resignation after dramatically losing support from his fellow conservatives. Alternatively, the defamed Prime Minister announced that he would act as a placeholder until his replacement was appointed. Johnson’s resignation follows the leaving of not one but two of Johnson’s cabinet ministers, who quit within minutes of eachother after learning of Johnson’s sexual misconduct scandal.
Knowing that Johnson did not personally partake in sexual misconduct is critical. The failure to comply and blatant corruption coming from Johnson and his party are significant factors in Johnson’s decision to resign. Through the ever-emerging Partygate Scandal, Johnson lost the support of many. However, he held the support of his fellow conservatives. What flipped the script and pushed Johnson’s hand at resigning was anything but surprising to the public; more than 50 ministers quit and lawmakers said he must resign.
Johnson has labeled his forced departure ‘eccentric,’ However, it’s also important to note how the government continuously changed the narrative over the past five days. Monday following allegations, a spokesman said Johnson knew of sexual misconduct allegations that were “either resolved or did not progress to a formal complaint.”
Those claims refused to sit well with Simon McDonald, the most senior civil servant at the U.K. Foreign Office from 2015 to 2020. McDonald took it upon himself to create an honest narrative. In a highly unusual move, he acted as a whistleblower on Tuesday, releasing a statement claiming that the prime minister’s office still wasn’t telling the truth.
Following McDonald’s flag raising on Tuesday, officials investigating the alleged fraud discovered McDonald’s counterclaims to be accurate, hitting Johnson with allegations that he failed to come clean about a lawmaker appointed to a senior position despite claims of sexual misconduct.
Chris Pincher was the senior member in Johnson’s cabinet that allegedly conducted the lewd acts. Pincher has been accused of groping two men on a drunken night at a private members’ club. Following the claims, he got forced to resign from his position as deputy chief whip on July 1; Pincher’s forced resignation comes with multiple other past sexual harassment allegations against him.
Johnson’s resignation speech took place in front of 10 Downing St. The Defamed Prime Minister defended himself, acting as a placeholder for the position. He justified his decision after claiming that even though some party members were pressing for him to resign from his position immediately and get replaced by a caretaker, he stated that a timeline for the party leadership election, which has already gone underway, would be revealed next week.
As many British people continue, they’re now forced to question their government after the realization of falseness mounted. The new scope of consciousness can act as something that has the potential to widen the scope of trueness. The members who resigned from Johnson’s cabinet, Treasury chief Rishi Sunak and Health Secretary Sajid Javid, sent many into a spiral concerning the validity of the U.K. government’s morals. Sunak said, “The public rightly expects the government to be conducted properly, competently, and seriously.” While Javid spoke on her departure, saying, “I can no longer continue in good conscience.”
