The definitions of moral hangover were updated in the UK after a night out by a politically unimpressive MP became the final push for Prime Minister Boris Johnson’s resignation.
There was no lack of scandals on the prime minister’s shoulders in the nearly three years he held office, from the renovation of his official apartment with an undeclared private donation to the parties at the government headquarters during the most severe periods of lockdown in the country. Boris managed to survive them all, in one way or another, including a vote of no confidence summoned by his co-religionists.
But it was the 30th anniversary party of the Conservative Friends of Cyprus, an entity linked to the former British colony, that was the final blow. The event took place on the 29th at the Carlton Club, a private club and the first headquarters of the Conservative Party itself, with the presence of a series of parliamentarians, including Chris Pincher, 52, until then one of the political articulators of the government in Parliament.
Pincher drank so much that, unable to leave, he had to be loaded into a cab and taken home before the party was over. Between one thing and another, two men sought out another political organizer of the party, Sarah Dines, and claimed to have been groped by the parliamentarian during the party.
The colleague tipped off her boss, Chris Heaton-Harris, and when Pincher woke up the next day, there was already an investigation against him. At the end of that day, he resigned from his government post with a letter in which he was too drunk and said he was ashamed. Boris, for his part, considered the matter closed with the resignation, which was not enough to keep the finance secretaries, Rishi Sunak, and the health secretaries, Sajid Javid, in addition to dozens of other members of the government.
But the reaction drew attention because it was not the first time that Pincher had been accused of harassment as a member of the government. In 2017, he resigned after a conservative activist said he had committed such an act in 2001. At the time, Alex Story, the whistleblower, even compared him to former producer Harvey Weinstein, now a symbol of a sexual predator after the scandals of # MeToo in Hollywood.
Pincher’s recidivism was what tightened the prime minister’s callus, because Boris was accused of lying when he said he did not know about the behavior of the ally, whom he brought back to the government in 2019, first in positions at the Secretariat of Foreign Affairs (when he was also was the subject of a complaint of harassment) and in the housing department, before being appointed deputy head of the organizers, in February this year.
Conservative lawmakers told the New York Times that Pincher was “unusually efficient”, stifling dissent to secure support for the prime minister’s projects. He was one of those responsible for garnering the votes necessary for Boris to survive last month’s vote of no confidence, in an effort dubbed by the government itself “Operation Save Big Dog.”
Despite the success of the vote of no confidence, the frying was already irreversible. He even had a popularity hiccup at the beginning of the Ukrainian War, when his approval ratings soared between March and April, but it was not enough to save him, especially after poor results for the Conservative Party at the polls in local elections. And it was at the Conservative Friends of Cyprus 30th birthday party that his co-religionists looked for a reason to finally remove Boris from power.
Boris Johnson Administration Controversies
Parties at government headquarters during the pandemic
Despite having banned family gatherings indoors due to the Covid pandemic, Boris and other members of the government attended parties organized in Downing Street, the prime minister’s official residence and office. The prime minister was even fined by the police for the infraction.
Renovations in the apartment
Boris was also blamed for a renovation of his Downing Street apartment with unreported funds from a private donation. The Electoral Commission fined the Conservative Party for failing to report the £67,800 donation received in October 2020
Allegations of harassment against ally
Conservative congressman Christopher Pincher resigned after allegations he had sexually harassed two men. The government’s initial reaction, to consider the case closed after the announcement that he was leaving the government, provoked an avalanche of dismissals at the highest levels of the British government. Boris initially said he had no prior information on the case, but was later forced to back off.
Animal rescue in Afghanistan
About 150 dogs and cats were evacuated from Afghanistan amid the rescue of civilians on the eve of the Taliban’s takeover. The government has been accused of prioritizing animals over people, and the prime minister has denied involvement. E-mails from the Foreign Ministry released in January, however, pointed out that Boris not only knew about the action, but also participated in the decision to authorize the aircraft to land in Kabul.
