2023-06-13 17:06:44
It is currently about employees and confidants of Johnson, whom he wanted to appoint to the British House of Lords as a thank you. Johnson’s former culture secretary, Nadine Dorries, told Talk TV Monday night that Sunak had “doubtfully and cruelly” blocked her appeal. He and his advisor James Forsyth are “privileged bigwigs” and have prevented her, “a girl born into poverty in Liverpool”, from entering the House of Lords. Both Johnson and Sunak belong to the British upper class.
Like all ex-prime ministers, Johnson, who resigned in the summer of 2022 under intense pressure from his own group, can nominate new members for life membership in the second chamber of parliament. The responsible House of Lords Appointments Commission (HOLAC) rejected eight of Johnson’s 15 appointments, including Dorries and three other Conservative MPs. The think tank Institute for Government spoke of an unprecedented quota.
Since then, an increasingly open battle has raged among the Tories. The news portal “Politico” even wrote on Tuesday that an “open war” had broken out in the Conservative Party. The Times reported that the former prime minister’s request to knight his father, Stanley Johnson, was also turned down. Stanley Johnson was himself a Conservative politician in the European Parliament.
Statement against statement: “He’s talking nonsense”
According to Sunak, Johnson asked him to overrule HOLAC. But he, Sunak, didn’t think that was right. Johnson said in return, “Rishi Sunak is talking nonsense.” It is statement against statement: “It was either overruling HOLAC or making promises to people,” Sunak said. Johnson, on the other hand, said Sunak should have asked HOLAC to renew the review, it was a formality.
According to the media, the reason for the rejection was that the MPs had not yet given up their mandates. The government dismissed allegations by the Johnson camp that candidates were not informed of the condition in good time.
Johnson’s star is also falling with the Tories
The dispute is also a sign of Johnson’s apparently declining popularity in his own party. Johnson gave up his mandate in the lower house on Friday, apparently not entirely voluntarily. The reason for this is the report of a parliamentary committee, which, according to the Times, is due to appear on Wednesday. The then Prime Minister lied to the House of Commons in the “Partygate” affair over illegal lockdown celebrations at Downing Street.
Johnson stylized himself as a kind of outcast when he left: It was very sad to leave Parliament, he said in his statement. He is pushed out by a few people who have no evidence to support their claims. He himself has no understanding of the allegations made by the committee on the “Partygate” affair. According to the media, the Labor-led committee, which also includes conservatives, is said to have recommended suspending him for ten days.
“Thank God we’re over him”
In addition to Johnson, Dorries and Nigel Adams also announced their withdrawal, and the necessary by-elections in the respective constituencies will take place in view of the poor poll numbers for the Conservatives. However, the three remained the same, suggesting Johnson’s popularity is waning both within his own party and among the British public, Politico wrote. Johnson’s own followers, who have benefited from the popularity wave of the ‘bad boy’ of British politics, would now turn their backs on him.
No one will miss the drama under Prime Minister Johnson, according to current Energy Secretary Grant Shapps, who was a minister under Johnson. “Thank God we’re over him,” another unnamed minister was quoted as saying by Politico, while another said Johnson was the “architect of his own destruction” who never knew how to behave. Better to turn to other things now.
However, there are also conservatives who would still not write off Johnson. Poor results in elections in particular could pave the way for Johnson to return again. In view of the economic situation in the wake of Brexit and the economic crisis, this could at least not be entirely impossible for Johnson, who has proven to be a “stick”.
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