Chaos continues in the UK with 44 resignations and one sacking from Boris Johnson’s government since Chancellor Rishi Sunak and Health minister Sajid Javid resigned yesterday.
Despite a delegation of cabinet ministers visiting No 10 and telling the beleaguered PM to go, he has vowed to stay.
He has also sacked his Minister for ‘Levelling Up’ Michael Gove for disloyalty.
Photo: AFP / Daniel Leal
There are now so many vacancies to fill there is speculation there are no willing or viable Conservative MPs to fill them.
It has been an extraordinary 30 hours UK correspondent Hugo Gye, tells Kathryn Ryan.
Nadhim Zahawi saying he has no confidence in the man who made him Chancellor 24 hours ago is the plot twist we deserve as a nation.
— Stig Abell (@StigAbell) July 6, 2022
“The situation is so chaotic. I think roughly one third of the entire government has now resigned. If Boris Johnson is to continue, which he says he thinks he can, they've obviously got to be replaced, it's going to be hard to find people to replace them.”
Johnson is alone in thinking he can carry on, Gye says.
“Boris Johnson thinks he can cling on and pretty much every single other observer of British politics, whether they're on his side or against him, doesn't understand how he can cling on and that it is now only a matter of days before he will inevitably be forced out.”
There are now moves afoot to change Conservative Party rules governing votes of no confidence in the leader, currently, having won a vote in June, the rules stipulate there can be no other vote of no confidence in Johnson, if triggered, for a year, says Gye.
This has undoubtedly been one of the most batshit days in British politics ever.
— Supertanskiii (@supertanskiii) July 6, 2022
“There are hoops that the opponents of Boris Johnson now have to jump through.
“But in practice, you can't find really a single Conservative MP who doesn't think that those hoops will be jumped through. And that, therefore the PM will be gone in a week.”
Despite the Conservative Party being torn asunder, it should not be written off as a political force, Gye says.
“It has been extraordinarily good at reinventing itself after periods of turmoil, and actually at uniting after periods of the most extreme division.”
Suella Braverman for leader! Dreams do come true for sketch writers
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A new leader could pull the party back from the brink, he says.
“Right now, it is divided as it could possibly be, it's back to the depths of the chaos that we saw at the end of the Theresa May, but it is perfectly possible, not inevitable, but perfectly possible that under a new leader by the end of this year, actually things could be quite harmonious.
“The party still has a very large majority in parliament, if it can unite behind a new leader, it'll have no difficulties getting legislation through, getting its policy agenda through.”
