A British lawmaker on Wednesday left the Conservative Party, the same as Prime Minister Boris Johnson, and joined the opposition Labor Party, in protest at what he called the prime minister’s “shameful” behavior, the subject of calls for resignation. for having parties during the lockdown against Covid-19 in the country.
Christian Wakeford is part of the group of young Conservative MPs elected for the first time in 2019, the wing that represents the most resistance to the prime minister. At least 20 lawmakers from that group said they would hand over a no-confidence vote to the Conservative Party, a gesture that could pave the way for Boris’ removal from power.
“I can no longer support a government that has consistently shown itself to be disconnected from the working people of Bury South. [distrito que elegeu o parlamentar] and the country as a whole,” Wakeford said.
The change of sides came shortly before Boris returned to Parliament once again to explain himself for the parties at the official residence that took place during the period of restrictions in the country against Covid-19 and on the eve of Prince Philip’s funeral, a period of official mourning. in the country.
At the seat of the British Legislature, Boris reacted to the defection, before saying that he will not resign. “The Conservative Party won [o distrito de] Bury South for the first time in generations under a prime minister with a unity agenda,” he said. “And he will win again the next election in Bury South under this prime minister.”
Boris frying is growing. This Wednesday, former minister David Davis, who led between 2016 and 2018 the government’s actions to leave the European Union, dramatically called for his resignation, echoing Lord Oliver Cromwell’s historic 1653 speech condemning Parliament. of the time.
“I will remind you of a quote very familiar to him. ‘In the name of God, go [embora]'” he said. “I hope my leaders take responsibility for the actions they take,” Davis told the prime minister.
Boris faces increasing resistance within the Conservative Party itself. For a process to be opened to remove him from office, at least 54 of the 360 ​​members of the party must write a motion of no confidence to a party body called the 1922 Committee expressing doubts that he can remain in office. According to The Times, at least 58 lawmakers have already openly criticized the prime minister.
The government has been betting on a positive agenda to overshadow the matter, and Boris announced this Wednesday the end of restriction measures imposed to contain the advance of the omicron variant, which has caused new spikes in Covid-19 cases in the country. After breaking records in early January, the curve of new cases of the disease in the country began to fall, but it is still at about 100,000 new infections per day, a number much higher than that recorded in previous waves.
Among the measures announced are the end of the mandatory use of masks and vaccination passports, in a nod to the conservative electorate, in addition to the release of the return of face-to-face work. Other resounding measures have also been announced in recent days to try to deflect the issue, such as the end of public funding for the British network BBC.
There is doubt, however, whether these measures will be enough to save the prime minister, at a time when the Conservative Party is already studying who could replace him. There are two names among the most quoted. One is that of Finance Minister Rishi Sunak, co-founder of an investment brokerage, who joined the government in 2018 as parliamentary undersecretary for Housing, Communities and Local Government. Before taking up his current position, he had also been Chief Secretary of the Treasury.
The other bet is on the country’s foreign secretary, Liz Truss. With a degree in philosophy, politics and economics from the University of Oxford, she was elected by the Conservative Party to Parliament in 2010. In 2019, she received the post of Minister for Women and Equality, and took care of the country’s international relations in September of the year. past.
It helped to make the situation worse for Boris the publication of a text by Dominic Cummings, his former adviser, on a blog on Monday (17), in which he claimed that the prime minister was aware of the party and gave the go-ahead for the event to take place.
The claim contradicts what Boris told Parliament. In his version, he claimed to have thought that the meeting was a work meeting, since the garden of the official residence functions, according to him, as an extension of the office. The prime minister said he stayed there for 25 minutes to thank officials and then returned to his office.
But a poll by The Independent newspaper shows that 65% of voters do not believe the prime minister’s excuse – the number remains high even when the survey only considers conservative voters, at 54%.
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