Another unexpected turn in the career of one of the most flamboyant and contentious politicians in Britain, Boris Johnson, unexpectedly resigned his parliamentary seat on Friday. This is the latest dramatic development in Johnson’s career.
Mr. Johnson has been the subject of an inquiry by a committee of the House , Commons. The committee wanted to determine whether or whether Mr. Johnson had misled to Parliament about lockdown-breaking parties that took place in Downing Street during the COVID-19 epidemic.
The committee had the authority to make a recommendation for a punishment, which might have resulted in Mr. Johnson being required to run for reelection in order to maintain his seat in the constituency that is located just outside of London, a race that he very likely would have lost.
Instead, the former prime minister decided to resign, so eliminating the possibility of it happening. As a result of his decision, a by-election will now need to be held in the constituency; however, he has said that he would not run in the election.
It was no secret that Mr. Johnson aspired to return to the position of Prime Minister, and one of the requirements for doing so is to have a seat in the House of Commons. However, it was not obvious if this was Mr. Johnson’s last departure from the House of Commons. Mr. Johnson had previously resigned a seat in the House of Commons in order to run for mayor of London, but he later returned to the House in order to represent a different district.
Mr Johnson was resigns from his position as prime minister in July of last year, but he has continued to cast a shadow over British politics in the past year. He has placed himself at the centre of disputes regarding his management of the pandemic and the accounts he gave to Parliament regarding the parties held at Downing Street while the building was under lockdown.
In spite of the fact that the details of the committee’s findings were not entirely transparent, Mr. Johnson’s decision gave the impression that it would propose more than a 10-day suspension, which may result in an election for his seat.
In March, when testifying in front of the parliamentary committee, he admitted that he had made remarks before Parliament that were false when he told legislators that there had been no violation of the lockdown regulations. He said that he would shoulder the whole burden of accountability for the Downing Street meetings. When asked about it at the time, he said, “That was wrong, and I bitterly regret it.”
The shocking news may mark the end of a colourful career for a politician who is notorious for flouting standards and going against the grain. On the other hand, it may easily be another turn in a career that has been distinguished by a series of ups and downs.
Political observers hypothesised that Mr. Johnson would step down as the representative for his current district in order to seek for a position in a more secure Conservative seat, such as the one that was just left by Mr. Johnson’s supporter Nadine Dorries, who declared on Friday that she would not be running for re-election. There is also the possibility that he would attempt to run for office in the more welcoming electorate of Henley, where he has already served as a representative.
But despite the fact that he is serving as an elected member, Mr. Johnson has been generating substantial amounts of money by speaking at events all around the world. And it’s possible that he did the maths and determined that, at the very least for the time being, it would be better for his reputation to leave Parliament on his own terms rather than risk losing his seat in a public vote.
Mr Johnson takes great satisfaction in his track record as an election winner, having won the London mayoralty twice and achieving a landslide victory in the general election in 2019. A loss would have placed a dent in Mr Johnson’s image as a winner, therefore he was hoping to avoid that outcome.
Prime Minister Rishi Sunak’s Conservative Party is currently behind the opposition Labour Party in the polls; as a result, the idea of a by-election in Mr. Johnson’s constituency of Uxbridge and South Ruislip would not be a pleasant one for Mr. Sunak’s party. A loss there would be a blow to the morale of the party as it prepares itself for a general election that is required to take place by January 2025 but which is projected to take place in the second half of the following year.
And Mr. Johnson’s furious departure will resurrect memories of the unprecedented political infighting that troubled the government a year ago, when Britain saw two prime leaders overthrown in fast succession. Last year, Britain saw two prime ministers ousted in quick succession.
Despite Mr. Johnson’s ability to dominate headlines, his popularity has declined significantly ever since he departed Downing Street. Mr. Sunak, who served as chancellor of the Exchequer under Mr. Johnson and followed him after a short interlude of Liz Truss, has gained praise for placing the Conservative-led government on a more firm foundation. He succeeded Mr. Johnson after the brief interlude of Liz Truss.
Mr. Johnson’s story is similar to that of Donald J. Trump, who was arrested on Thursday for obstruction of justice in relation to his handling of secret materials. Mr. Johnson rose to prominence on a populist platform and has aired a litany of complaints as his fortunes have waned.
It may be argued that Mr. Johnson’s legal woes are not as significant as Mr. Trump’s, who is facing numerous criminal charges at the moment. Given though Mr. Trump maintains a large lead in the surveys of Republican primary contenders, his political prospects may not be as bright as they once were, at least in the near term.
