Prime Minister Boris Johnson’s series of lockdown parties have left a big mess and he is still dealing with the consequences. Now, UK lawmakers are asking him to resign.
Johnson, who two years ago led the Conservatives to their biggest election victory in 40 years, is fighting to stay in authority after the revelation of his lockdown parties came up. Per Reuters, he has apologized and even said he was unaware of many of the rules.
- All he knew was that there was a “bring your own booze” work event on May 20, 2020, and no one told him that it was against COVID-19 lockdown rules.
- “I’m absolutely categorical, nobody said to me, ‘This is an event that is against the rules,’” Johnson said Tuesday.
“I expect my leaders to shoulder the responsibility for the actions they take,” Brexit-supporting Conservative lawmaker David Davis told Parliament.
- Conservative lawmaker Christian Wakeford said that the prime minister was “incapable of offering the leadership and government this country deserves.”
Johnson defended his government's records for dealing with the pandemic, fighting crime and running the economy. “We delivered while they dithered,” he said of opposition politicians, per PBS News.
He brushed aside those asking him to quit.
But Conservative legislators are judging whether to trigger a no-confidence vote amid the “partygate” allegations. The no-confidence vote can be triggered if 54 party lawmakers or 15% of the party’s House of Commons, write letters to a party official demanding it.
- Many Conservative members have openly called for Johnson to quit.
- Conservative lawmaker Andrew Bridgen even said that he thought the 54-letter minimum should be reached “this week.”
- If Johnson lost the confidence vote, a contest to replace him would take place and the winner will become the Conservative leader and prime minister.