LONDON — Former UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson left chaos in his wake on Saturday after storming out of Parliament with a blast at fellow lawmakers whom he accused of ousting him in a “witch hunt”.
As opponents jeered, the Tory government absorbed the shock of another Johnson earthquake, while a band of loyal supporters insisted the divisive former British leader could still return. Two of Johnson’s allies joined him in quitting the House of Commons, putting pressure on Prime Minister Rishi Sunak.
Less than a year after he was ousted as prime minister by his own Conservative Party, Johnson unexpectedly resigned as a lawmaker on Friday afternoon, “at least for now,” he said in a self-justifying resignation statement.
Johnson resigned after it was reported that he will be punished for misleading Parliament over “partygate”, a series of rule-breaking meetings in the prime minister’s office during the coronavirus pandemic. Johnson was among dozens of people fined by police for late-night parties, boozy parties and “wine Fridays” that broke the country’s government-imposed restrictions.
Johnson has admitted misleading Parliament when he assured lawmakers no rules had been broken, but said he did not do so deliberately, genuinely believing the meetings were legitimate work events.
A rules committee investigating it seems to see things differently. Johnson resigned after receiving the Privileges Committee report, which has not yet been made public. Johnson faced suspension from the House of Commons if the committee found he had deliberately lied.
Johnson, 58, described the committee as “a kangaroo court” that was bent on “kicking me out of Parliament”.
“Its purpose from the beginning has been to find me guilty, regardless of the facts,” Johnson said.
The committee, which has a majority of Tory members, said Johnson had “undermined the integrity” of the House of Commons with his attack. It said it would meet on Monday “to conclude the investigation and issue its report promptly.”
The resignation will trigger a special election to replace Johnson as a lawmaker for a suburban London seat in the House of Commons. Two Johnson allies, Nadine Dorries and Nigel Adams, also resigned, prompting three near-simultaneous by-elections – an unwelcome headache for Sunak.
Johnson is a charismatic and erratic figure whose career has seen a series of scandals and comebacks. The wizened, Latino populist with a mop of blond hair has held high office but also spent periods on the sidelines of politics before Britain’s exit from the European Union propelled him to the top.
A champion of Brexit, Johnson led the Tories to a landslide victory in 2019 and took Britain out of the EU the following year. But he was embroiled in scandals over his ethics and judgement, and his own party had forced him out as prime minister in mid-2022.
By leaving Parliament, he avoids a suspension that could have seen him removed from his Commons seat by his constituents, leaving him free to run for Parliament again in the future. His resignation statement suggested he was mulling that option. He was highly critical of Prime Minister Rishi Sunak, who served as head of the Treasury in Johnson’s government before quitting with several other colleagues in July 2022, the resignations of which forced Johnson out as Prime Minister .
Conservative poll ratings fell in the turbulent final months of Johnson’s tenure and have not recovered. Opinion polls regularly put the opposition Labor Party 20 points or more ahead. National elections are due to be held at the end of 2024.
“Just a few years after winning the largest majority in nearly half a century, that majority is clearly at risk,” Johnson said in a statement that sounded like a leadership pitch. “Our party urgently needs to regain its sense of momentum and its belief in what this country can do.”
Allies of Johnson expressed hope that the former prime minister was not finished. Conservative lawmaker John Redwood said Johnson “has made it very clear that he does not see this as the end of his involvement in British politics”.
But many others wondered whether a politician who often seemed to defy political gravity could make a comeback.
Others compared Johnson to Donald Trump, who has similarly claimed persecution by a host of enemies after being indicted on federal charges over his hoarding of classified documents after leaving office.
“It all feels very Trumpian,” said Will Walden, who worked for Johnson when he was London mayor and UK foreign secretary.
“He has a song to play, and it’s ‘I got robbed,'” Walden told Sky News.
Tim Bale, a professor of politics at Queen Mary University of London, said Johnson often drew inspiration from his political hero, Winston Churchill, who led Britain to victory in World War II only to be ousted from power in 1945 and then return to office. several years later.
“I think he thinks he can spend some time in … the desert before the Conservative Party and the country call him back in their hour of need,” Bale said.
“Frankly, I think it’s unlikely. I think Partygate has made sure it’s toxic as far as a lot of voters are concerned. And I think the way it’s been behaving over the last two or three days, and some people will say over the last two or three years, probably means most of his colleagues would rather he just disappear in a puff of smoke.”
