Johnson’s Welsh Minister has resigned

by

He is the third minister after Sajid Javid and Rishi Sunak to resign, while Housing Secretary Michael Gove has been sacked by the Prime Minister.

London, Thanasis Gavos

Welsh Minister Simon Hart tendered his resignation from the Johnson government late on Wednesday.

He is the third minister after Sajid Javid and Rishi Sunak to resign, while Housing Secretary Michael Gove has been sacked by the Prime Minister.

Along with the resignation of proposed Undersecretary for Health Ed Argar also late on Wednesday night, Boris Johnson has since Tuesday night received 44 resignations from government posts, including three ministers and 16 undersecretaries.

Despite the resignations, Mr Johnson has made it clear to his ministers that he has no intention of resigning.

He cited the overwhelming majority he won in the 2019 election for the decision. The British Prime Minister’s reiteration of that argument on Wednesday has led political commentators to point out that he is behaving as if he were the leader of a presidential rather than a parliamentary democracy, where the power of the leader is based on the trust of the MPs and his caucus.

Several political analysts are also alarmed by the possibility that Boris Johnson will call for the dissolution of parliament and the calling of early elections. Typically, permission for such a thing would have to be given by the queen, but she would be in a very difficult position and would perhaps have to refuse, because according to experts, the dissolution of parliament is not justified once a viable majority can be formed, under another Conservative leader.

As BBC political analyst Lewis Goodall commented, any other Prime Minister would have resigned by now, but Boris Johnson likes to test the political and constitutional limits of British democracy.

In another development, Attorney-General (government post) Suella Braverman, a staunch supporter of Mr Johnson, said his position as prime minister was unsustainable. But she said she is not resigning from the government, and that she intends to run for the leadership of the party when a succession race arises.

You May Also Like

Recommended for you