After more than 30 members of his government resigned in the course of a hectic 24-hour period in Westminster, the British prime minister’s scandal-plagued premiership is beginning to look more precarious by the second on Wednesday.
The drama started when Johnson expressed regret for his part in the scandal involving Chris Pincher, one of his most important allies who quit his government job after being accused of sexual misconduct.
Johnson knew more than he was letting on about Pincher’s prior behavior when he promoted him, according to Downing Street, which was forced to change its story after a steady stream of allegations and an explosive accusation from a former senior civil servant.
Two of Johnson’s most senior ministers announced their resignations from the government on Tuesday evening, setting off a day of political unrest that would bring Johnson’s premiership to the verge of collapse. Johnson himself later apologized for the affair in an interview.
This is how those 24 hours went.
Thursday, June 30
6 p.m. In a television interview, Johnson issues a formal apology for the Pincher incident and acknowledges that it was “the wrong thing to do” to name Pincher the government’s deputy chief whip despite being aware of a 2019 investigation into his behavior.
6.02 p.m. While Johnson is still speaking, Sajid Javid, the health secretary, resigns and tweets a scathing resignation letter in which he states bluntly that Brits “rightly expect integrity from their government.”
6.11 p.m. Rishi Sunak makes it two less than ten minutes after Westminster is still reeling from the resignation of one senior Cabinet member. The chancellor wrote in his resignation letter that “it has become clear to me that our approaches are fundamentally too different,” seemingly attributing his resignation to disagreements over economic policy.
He continued, “We cannot go on like this.” However, their actions were a sign that a sizable portion of the Tory Party had come to the conclusion that Johnson’s days were numbered. Officials from the Javid and Sunak camps insist that their resignations were not coordinated.
7 p.m.
\Andrew Murrison, the trade representative to Morocco, releases his resignation letter as the third government official to do so while ostensibly live tweeting from a sauna. This subtly cruel sentence was obscured by the steamy photo: “In February I wrote a supportive op-ed for the Guardian in which I said that if you were required to resign from office, you would do so with dignity. I would no longer use those words in my writing. The image is clearer here.
7.20 p.m.
Bim Afolami, vice chair of the Tory Party, becomes the fourth to resign live on the British television network talkTV.
7.30-8.30 p.m.
Three parliamentary private secretaries [PPSs], or ministerial assistants, have recently announced their resignations, adding to the recent flurry of resignations in the government’s lower ranks.
8.58 p.m.
Johnson would have been particularly hurt by the scathing letter that the Welsh Secretary’s departing parliamentary aide sent if he had bothered to read it at this point in time. “You run the risk of permanently harming this government and the Conservative Party,” Virginia Crosbie warns Johnson. It seems like you were either given bad advice or are powerless to alter. In spite of what is going on around them, many ministers are doing brilliant work. The general public thinks you can’t be relied upon to tell the truth. By resigning from office, you can serve [this country] one last time.
9.30-10
p.m. Anyone anticipating a quiet exit from Johnson is left unsatisfied as the PM makes a defiant reshuffle to fill the most important positions in his Cabinet. Nadhim Zahawi, a predicted candidate for the presidency, is appointed chancellor. Stephen Barclay, Johnson’s chief of staff, is transferred to the health portfolio, and Michelle Donelan, the minister for universities, is elevated to Zahawi’s previous position as education secretary.
10.02 p.m.
breathe too. After an entire hour without any resignations, Theo Clarke, the PM’s trade envoy to Kenya, says she is leaving.
10.47 p.m.
As Parliament began to adjourn on Tuesday, Solicitor General Alex Chalk completed the set by resigning as the tenth member of the government.
Thursday, July 2
7.05 a.m.
Zahawi conducts his first round of interviews with media outlets in the morning following his promotion to the Treasury the previous evening.
8.10 a.m. …
However, as Zahawi is speaking on the BBC’s premier Today program, two of his government colleagues resign. The chancellor expresses regret over the departure of Laura Trott, a parliamentary aide, and Will Quince, the minister of education.
9 a.m.-11.30 a.m.
Junior ministers and PPSs, such as the seasoned City Minister John Glen and Prisons Minister Victoria Atkins, continue to announce their resignations in a steady stream.
12.05 p.m.
After 17 resignations from the government, Johnson stands defiantly before his own stony-faced lawmakers as well as a beaming Keir Starmer, the leader of Labour. Even as some of his own MPs used their questions to urge him to resign, he insisted he would “keep going.”
12.40 p.m. After triggering the circumstances that would endanger Johnson’s premiership the previous evening, Javid steals the show in parliament with a scathing statement made after PMQs. Directly addressing his fellow Tory MPs, the former health secretary declared, “At some point we have to decide that enough is enough,” and he urged the remaining members of the Cabinet to do the same.
2.25 p.m.
A particularly painful wave of resignations interferes with Johnson’s preparations for a grilling from the influential liaison committee of senior cross-party MPs. Junior ministers considered to be rising Tory stars Neil O’Brien, Kemi Badenoch, Julia Lopez, Lee Rowley, and Alex Burghart all submit letters of resignation to the prime minister at the same time. The quitters are now arriving in groups.
The MPs wrote, “It has become increasingly obvious that the government cannot function.” Moments later, Mims Davies, the minister of labor, left the government, becoming the 27th member.
3 p.m.
Johnson is seated before MPs as Chair Bernard Jenkin cautions members of the liaison committee to follow the predetermined order of questioning. The prime minister answers questions about Ukraine and the cost-of-living crisis before MPs are allowed to grill him on issues relating to “integrity in politics,” all while junior members of the government continue to announce their resignations, as the world waits for signs Johnson would take the hint.
3.40 p.m.
Johnson’s predicament is succinctly demonstrated when he tells MPs that the necessary “safeguarding is done” to ensure Ukrainian refugees are safely housed, while his government minister in charge of that safeguarding announces her resignation on Twitter.
4.24 p.m.
According to numerous media reports, a delegation of Cabinet ministers has reportedly arrived in Downing Street to request Johnson’s resignation. One issue is that the PM is still responding to queries from the liaison committee.
4.31 p.m.
One of the Cabinet ministers preparing to fire Johnson is Zahawi, who has been Johnson’s chancellor for less than 24 hours.
5.13 p.m.
The 1922 committee of backbench Tory MPs decides against changing the rules to permit another internal party vote on Johnson’s future as more resignations from the government continue to come in and senior members of the government attempt to convince Johnson to resign. On Monday, there will be a vote to choose the new executive of the committee, who may have a different perspective.
6 p.m.
Media reports suggest that Johnson’s remaining senior Cabinet allies have split into two camps—stay-ers and go-ers—and have gathered in various locations throughout the Downing Street complex 24 hours after Johnson’s apology. Johnson’s future is tenuously in jeopardy.
Johnson dismisses Michael Gove, one of his most senior ministers, at nine o’clock. The action was taken in response to reports that Gove, who served in several senior positions in Johnson’s administration, had spoken with the PM and urged him to resign.
