New Bout of Tory Infighting: This Is How PM Rishi Sunak Loses His Grip on His Party

Britain’s opposition leader Keir Starmer recently demanded a snap general election after three Tory MPs, including former Prime Minister Boris Johnson, resigned from Parliament following a parliamentary inquiry into parties held during the Covid-19 lockdown, known as the Partygate scandal.

The calls come as Prime Minister Rishi Sunak is under increasing pressure to prevent Johnson from standing as a Tory candidate in the upcoming election after his sudden resignation from Parliament, according to British media.

A specialized committee in the British House of Commons had concluded, on June 12, 2023, that Johnson had misled Parliament in what is known as Partygate, but Johnson preempted the committee’s ruling and resigned on June 9 from his position as an MP, sparking a political battle within the ruling party.

The rivalry between current PM Rishi Sunak and former PM Boris Johnson has intensified, and the confrontation between yesterday’s allies and today’s enemies threatens the future of the Tory, especially in terms of the division and cracking of the ruling party, in addition to the increase in the possibility of losing the upcoming general elections.

 

Sudden Resignations

The Independent newspaper reported on June 10 that British PM Rishi Sunak will face a third by-election after three MPs of the Tory he leads gave up their membership in Parliament, led by former Tory leader Boris Johnson, who is still an MP for the Uxbridge and South Ruislip constituency.

Following Johnson’s resignation, two of his closest allies also submitted their resignations: former Culture Minister Nadine Dorries, who is still an MP, and Nigel Adams, an MP for the Selby and Ainsty districts.

The resignation of Johnson and his two allies calls for at least three by-elections that may reveal weak support for the Tories, which is another electoral headache for Sunak, especially in light of the internal division sweeping the party, which the media considered a revenge attack aimed at creating chaos.

The Independent quoted senior Tories as saying Johnson and his partners were attacking hard to try to damage Sunak’s government, and some even imagined they could orchestrate a series of by-elections this summer.

But Sunak loyalists insist the PM will be relieved to have the chance to put an end to Johnson’s madness and reshape the party according to his vision, even though potential by-election losses may prove damaging in the short term.

On his part, Johnson said: “It is very sad to be leaving Parliament - at least for now - but above all, I am bewildered and appalled that I can be forced out, anti-democratically, by a committee chaired and managed, by Harriet Harman, with such egregious bias,” accusing Sunak of not leading a sufficiently Conservative government.

Commenting on his resignation, the Privileges Committee said Johnson had damaged the integrity of Parliament through his statements, and recommended a long-term suspension of his membership of the House of Commons (for a period of 90 days).

(Credit: The Week)

 

Tory Failure

Immediately, the Labour Party took advantage of the opportunity to pounce on the Tory and put pressure on Sunak to decide to dissolve Parliament and call for snap elections in the hope that they would seize the leadership of the UK.

The Times newspaper reported on June 13 that the Labour Party wasted no time in using the impending by-elections in Uxbridge and South Ruislip as an incentive to demand donations from its supporters and bring down the Tories.

The Labour leader Keir Starmer tweeted: “Rishi Sunak must finally find a backbone, call an election, and let the public have their say on 13 years of Tory failure.”

He added, “This farce must stop. People have had enough of a shambolic Tory government and a weak PM no one voted for.”

“As Boris Johnson exits in disgrace, the British public are sick to the back teeth of this never ending Tory soap opera played out at their expense,” Labour deputy leader Angela Rayner said on Twitter.

She added, “After thirteen years of Tory chaos, enough is enough. It’s time for a fresh start for Britain with a Labour Government.”

In turn, the National Campaign Coordinator of the Labour Party, Shabana Mahmood, indicated to Sky News that the country needs change and that her party is the change that the country needs, accusing the ruling party of drowning in absolute chaos.

 

New Bout of Infighting

Amid anger expressed by some within the Conservative Party at Boris Johnson over his sudden resignation, in which he said he would only leave Westminster for the time being, there is a concerted effort among the party’s senior MPs to ensure that Johnson has no way back into the House of Commons in the near future, as The Guardian reported on June 10, 2023.

Party figures insisted the strong reaction to Johnson’s behavior reflected a sense of resentment on the part of MPs, who were angry that the departure of Johnson and his allies would undermine Sunak’s attempts to restore order in the party.

The newspaper quoted an unnamed prominent member of the 1922 Committee (Tory’s decision-making group) as saying it was the clear view among colleagues that he should be blocked from standing for another Tory seat at the next election.

The senior member added: “The pantomime has to end. He has to be stopped by whatever means, and the sooner, the better.”

Another grandee on the backbenches, who is close to Sunak and who used to support Johnson, added: “The way he has behaved in insulting the process of the House of Commons is disgraceful. If he is allowed to stand again, he will continue to undermine the government.”

Writing in The Observer, former Tory deputy PM Michael Heseltine said that Sunak might take a tougher stance with Johnson, adding that Johnson should not be allowed to run for the party again because of the mess he left behind.

On the other hand, the former minister and deputy in the ruling party, Jacob Rees-Mogg, warned of the repercussions of banning Johnson and preventing him from running again for the parliamentary elections.

He pointed out, in remarks reported by GB News Channel, that this measure would undoubtedly lead to igniting a civil war among the Tories and rip the party apart.

“Disgraceful treatment of a political leader who has made world history by achieving Brexit and leading the Tories to a landslide General Election victory,” said Tory MP Mike Fabricant.

Tory MP James Duddridge hinted that Johnson would return one day, writing on Twitter: “History will recognize the great work Boris did on Brexit, Ukraine, and Covid-19.”

Bloomberg predicted in a report on June 11, 2023, that the by-elections would hold Sunak’s hopes, who have been in office since October 2022, to narrow the gap with the opposition Labour Party before the next general elections, especially after recent opinion polls showed that the Labour Party was ahead, and the Tory was far behind.

Retaining Johnson’s seat in the London constituency of Uxbridge and South Ruislip presents a particular challenge because the Tories only retained the Greater London constituency in 2019 with a relatively slim majority.

The Tory lost more than a thousand members of municipal councils in local elections last May, while the Liberal Democratic Party scored three major victories over the Tory in special elections in recent years.

 

Political Conflict

The row between Johnson and Sunak surfaced recently after the House of Lords announced the names of people who deserve privileges of the honor on the recommendation of the former PM, according to The Guardian.

However, the list was devoid of 8 names considered allies and close to Johnson, and it was replaced by people close to Sunak.

Johnson’s camp accused Sunak and his allies among the Tory deputies of changing the list, but the PM denied it and said that Johnson asked him to overturn the choice of the House of Lords and to return the deleted names to the group of eligible privileged owners, rejecting Johnson’s request on the grounds that it violated the law.

Johnson’s answer to Sunak’s statement was very brief, but very significant, saying: “The PM is uttering nonsense.”

Sunak has faced criticism over allowing Johnson’s resignation honors list to be approved while the Privileges Committee is still investigating him, while he seeks to reunite the ranks of the Tory, which remained fragmented by ideological disputes over Brexit.

As the row over the list arose, two of Johnson’s allies who were not included in the list (Nadine Dorries and Nigel Adams) resigned.

Subsequently, the debate broke out between the two camps of the Tory leaders, and the Tory deputies were divided between them, as the disagreements that were somewhat non-public within the ruling party became audible and visible to various media outlets.

Political analysts described the resignations as revenge for Sunak, who resigned from the post of Treasury Secretary in Johnson’s government, which precipitated the last of the UK PM’s resignation in July 2022 against the background of Partygate and a host of scandals.

In turn, UK-based journalist Saeb Hamwi explained in a statement to Al-Estiklal that “Boris Johnson’s sudden resignation from the UK Parliament shows the deep divisions within the Tory.

“The row over the honor list is a battle that has its roots in Johnson’s resignation as PM last year, as many Tory MPs consider Sunak to be a major cause,” he said.

Mr. Hamwi added, “The renewed row between the former and current PM will take an upward turn until the issue of the ruling party’s leadership in the upcoming elections is resolved, and the Tories’ directions are drawn for the next stage.”