BEST FOR BRITAIN'S
WEEKEND WIRE

Dear John

Well, well what a week it has been. It started off a little slow but by Tuesday evening we were all in the grip of the most insane parliamentary showdown of the year. 

Going, going, gone?

The PM has resigned - or at least we think he has? His statement was something of a matter of interpretation. 

You’ll likely know how it all unfolded, but we’ll run through all the details. 

The first few blows

On Tuesday evening, both the Health Secretary and the Chancellor resigned. They were the first of many. 

More Government ministers began resigning in a steady trickle and that trickle turned into an avalanche. Before Johnson finally went, a grand total of 59 ministers and ministerial aides had stepped down from their positions. 

Thus followed intense hand-wringing, with Wednesday night involving a series of meetings between Johnson and Tory colleagues after which he vowed to remain in post with a series of eerily Trumpian statements. 

By Thursday morning Johnson’s hand had been forced. He announced he was stepping down with a statement characteristically self-pitying and lacking any humility or acknowledgement of his personal failures and criminality and untruthfulness which brought him to this point. 

Many have said his resignation has come far too late. Johnson had already disgraced himself over the Owen Paterson issue last year (and of course over partygate) - and it’s taken till now for countless ministers to grow a backbone and force him to go. So what was it that tipped them over the edge?

The final straw

The episode that kicked off this week’s mass resignations concerned the now-disgraced former Deputy Chief Whip Christopher Pincher. 

Last week, Pincher had the whip suspended after complaints of sexual assault were made to the Independent Complaints and Grievance Scheme.

Reports began to emerge over the weekend that this wasn’t the first complaint against him, and that Pincher was well known for his inappropriate behaviour. 

On Monday, Downing Street conceded that Johnson was aware of claims about Pincher’s behaviour in February when he appointed Pincher Deputy Chief Whip. However, the Downing Street spokesperson alleged that Johnson knew of no specific allegations against Pincher and so could not have blocked his appointment on supposed hearsay. This was against the backdrop of rumours that Johnson had referred to Pincher as ‘Pincher by name, pincher by nature’. Stomach-churning stuff. 

On Tuesday, the row escalated further, when senior civil servant Simon McDonald issued a letter accusing Johnson of lying about whether he knew of claims against Pincher. McDonald’s letter said that a complaint had been made against Pincher in the summer of 2019 when Pincher was Minister of State at the Foreign Office. The complaint was similar to the current allegations and was upheld after an investigation, with Pincher apologising and promising no further inappropriate behaviour. However, McDonald claimed that Johnson was fully and personally briefed about the investigation into Pincher - an investigation which did not exonerate the then Foreign Office Minister. 

Laying down the law

Johnson’s aggrieved ex-ministers have had some harsh words for him this week. The now ex-Health Secretary Sajid Javid delivered an excoriating speech in Parliament this week, lamenting the unfairness of cabinet ministers being forced to defend the PM with lines that simply don’t stand up to scrutiny. 

The Vice Chair of the Conservative Party Bim Afolami resigned from his position live on Talk TV, saying that he didn’t believe Johnson had the support of the country at large. Victoria Atkins resigned as a justice minister, saying “I can no longer pirouette around our fractured values.” - a rather striking turn of phrase we think. 

Overall, 59 ministers and ministerial aides resigned their positions before Johnson finally called it a day. In addition to the 148 Conservative MPs who voted against Johnson in the confidence vote in May, this means he had definitely lost the backing of more than half of his Parliamentary party by the time he went. 

However, the claims that these resignations were in any way principled seems a bit far-fetched when you consider that Sunak, Javid & co. were willing to defend: 

• Patterson, 
• PPE
• Priti Patel bullying
• Partygate
• Carriegate (ruining our alliteration)
• Flat gate
• Barnard Castle
• The list goes on…

In the end it was only when they were made to look personally stupid, by being expected to repeat lies, that would be exposed minutes later, that they decided enough was enough. 

A swan-song of sorts

As all departing leaders do, Johnson delivered a resignation speech. 

Johnson’s speech wasn’t exactly the most gracious and he spent most of it bigging himself up and dismissing those who wanted him out as ‘eccentric’. 

He made a feeble attempt to dismantle the notion that he might be a teeny bit power-hungry, saying he stayed on even when his MPs were against him not because he wanted to but because he felt it was his ‘job, his duty, his obligation’. Not sure we’re buying that one. 

But don’t forget the after-party!

Johnson may already have had quite an explosive departure from office (not that he has technically left yet), but it seems he intends to go out with a bang.

Hot on its heels of his resignation, was further news that Johnson and his wife Carrie have plans to host a delayed wedding reception at Chequers, the PM’s grace and favour home in Buckinghamshire. 

How they’ve quite had the time to get the party invites out in the midst of all this drama is perplexing but it maybe gives some clue as to why he’s so determined to stay in post.

Runners and riders

Everything looks a little uncertain right now without timelines in place for Johnson’s departure. Several figures in the Conservative party have begun unofficial leadership campaigns, with Sunak, Mourdant and Wallace all performing well in the polls. 

Although he has never held a Government post, Tom Tugenhadt appears popular  having announced his candidacy last night. He certainly has shorter odds that the Attorney General who faced widespread ridicule after announcing she wanted to be Prime Minister on live TV. See her opposite number, Emily Thornberry’s cutting reaction here.

She’s not the only one. Relative nobodies Rehman Chishti and John Baron are also reported to be considering leadership bids. No, we’re not sure who they are either but it does suggest we’re in for more of a Grand National style of leadership race.

Beergate saag-a concludes

Despite the best efforts of the Daily Mail, who ran two weeks of front-page headlines on the non-story, Durham Police have concluded that there is no reason for them to issue Keir Starmer or his Deputy with fines for having a beer with dinner. 

Too little too late

This week we also heard news of British Council staff trapped in Afghanistan and unable to leave. 

A campaign by MPs and former colleagues resulted in a breakthrough which now allows British Council contractors trapped in Afghanistan to apply to come to Britain. These contractors are at risk from the Taliban following their cooperation with the UK and for their work promoting certain values antithetical to Taliban dogma.  

Unfortunately, our Government has been sluggish and has only just opened a route for these contractors, who tended to work outside of Kabul, to come to the UK. Unfortunately, while the contractors are able to make an application, they have not been offered an actual route out of the country.

Many are in hiding in remote and dangerous areas, and it appears that no arrangements have been made to evacuate them.The Government has not only acted too late, but it has acted only in half-measures. A fine way to repay our allies.

Calling us out

The Council of Europe’s Human Rights Commissioner Dunja Mijatović has this week spoke out against the UK Government’s proposed repeal of the Human Rights Act.  

The UK Government has published a new Bill of Rights Bill which looks to repeal the 1998 Act and replace it with many watered-down provisions which look likely to weaken human rights protections in the UK. 

In particular, Mijatović expressed concerns that the UK would stop upholding the rights outlined in the European Convention on Human Rights (ECHR) and that this would worsen the situation in the UK with regards to Northern Ireland, where adherence to the ECHR is a key principle of the Good Friday Agreement. 

The UK’s international credibility is already in tatters, it’s actually impressive that our Government continues to think of new ways to damage it further. 

Thoughts with Japan

There’s been some extremely sad news coming out of Japan this morning. Former Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, the longest serving prime minister in Japanese history, has been shot and killed in the city of Nara. Thoughts are with his family and the people of Japan.

And finally

Amidst all the chaos of this week, Best for Britain continued our important work as secretariat of the UK Trade and Business Commission. 

This week, the Commission held a live evidence session examining the Northern Ireland Protocol Bill, which threatens to rip up the Northern Ireland Protocol (an international agreement freely entered into by the UK). 

The session examined the political and legal ramifications of the Bill’s publication and potential passage into law, examining the reaction from the EU and US and considering the implications it may have for global security. We heard from a broad range of witnesses with legal expertise and EU experience including the Special Advisor to Maroš Šefčovič. 

Watch the session here. 

Admittedly, a new Government could mean that this Bill gets scrapped, but all that is far from certain

In the meantime we wait, watch and ready ourselves to respond.

Have a lovely weekend and prepare for another week of chaos in Westminster!

Best wishes,

Maheen Behrana

Senior Campaigns and Policy Officer, Best for Britain

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