LONDON (AP) – Two very different British politicians who often clashed, Boris Johnson i Nicola Sturgeon both took their matches to great heights, and both have suffered sudden and dramatic falls.
Former UK Prime Minister Johnson resigned as a lawmaker rather than be impeached for lying to Parliament. Sturgeon, the former leader of Scotland, was arrested and interrogated by the police investigating his party’s finances.
Here’s what you need to know about the dramatic evolution of UK politics:
WHO IS INVOLVED?
Johnson and Sturgeon are big political figures, widely known only by their first names: Boris and Nicola.
Johnson, 58, is a wrinkled, Latino ex-journalist whose career bounced between high office and stints on the sidelines before becoming leader of the 2016 referendum campaign to take Britain out of the European Union. He took office as Prime Minister in 2019, leading the Conservative Party to a landslide election victory on the promise of “getting Brexit done”.
Johnson took Britain out of the EU the following year. But he was embroiled in scandals over his ethics and judgment, and his own party had forced him out as prime minister in mid-2022. He remained as a lawmaker until he unexpectedly resigned on Friday.
Sturgeon, 52, is a confident, literate politician who became leader of the Scottish National Party and Scotland’s semi-autonomous government in 2014. She helped turn the SNP into a formidable election-winning machine and transformed it from one to a great extent. -Convert independence into a dominant government force with liberal social positions.
But he failed to achieve his main goal of bringing Scotland to independence from the United Kingdom. In a 2014 referendum, voters chose to remain in the UK, and attempts to hold a second plebiscite have been blocked by the UK government.
Calm and measured, Sturgeon often seemed the antithesis of Johnson, especially during the coronavirus pandemic, when her contrasting communications and crisis management styles were on display.
His profile goes beyond Scotland. Donald Trump hailed his resignation as prime minister in February with: “Well done Scotland’s extremist Nicola Sturgeon, who woke up broke.”
WHAT HAPPENED TO JOHNSON?
Johnson’s exit it stems from the “partygate” scandal about parties breaking the rules in government buildings during the pandemic. Johnson was one of a number of officials fined by police over the gatherings, although he denied deliberately breaking the rules his own government had imposed on the country.
A standards committee has been investigating whether Johnson lied to Parliament about the party door. He resigned on Friday after seeing the committee’s unpublished findings, calling the panel of lawmakers a “kangaroo court” bent on ousting him from office. If the committee found that Johnson had lied, he would likely have faced the suspension of Parliament and a petition by his constituents to oust him from his seat in the House of Commons.
The committee, which has a majority in Johnson’s own Conservative Party, still plans to publish its findings and, while it can no longer suspend Johnson, could impose other sanctions, including removing him from Parliament.
What about sturgeon?
Sturgeon surprised many Scots when she resigned as prime minister in February, she said she knew “in my head and in my heart” that it was time for her, her party and her country to make way for someone else.
Two former SNP executives, including Sturgeon’s husband Peter Murrell, have since been arrested and questioned by police investigating what happened to more than £600,000 ($754,000) earmarked for a future campaign of independence from Scotland.
On Sunday, Sturgeon herself was arrested and questioned for more than six hours. He was released without charge while the police investigation continues.
CAN ANY OF THEM COME BACK?
Johnson and Sturgeon defiantly insist their careers are not over.
After being released by police, Sturgeon insisted she was “innocent of any wrongdoing” and said she would continue as a lawmaker in the Scottish Parliament.
But opposition politicians called for it to be suspended, and some SNP lawmakers agreed. Ash Regan, who ran unsuccessfully to replace Sturgeon as party leader, said “the leadership… must really think about taking decisive action” if Sturgeon did not quit the party.
Johnson resigned from Parliament in a 1,000-word statement, accusing opponents of a “witch hunt” and a “political hitjob”. He said he would leave “at least for now.”
Tim Bale, a professor of politics at Queen Mary University of London, said Johnson probably hoped he could return, but that it would be “very difficult”.
“I suspect many conservatives would shudder at that prospect,” he said. “I think the majority of the party, frankly, would like to see the back of Boris Johnson now.”
IS THERE A MORAL TO THE STORY?
If there is a lesson, it may be that dominant figures often leave chaos and division in their wake.
The exits of Johnson and Sturgeon sparked bitter contests for the party’s leadership. The SNP chose Humza Yousaf as the new Prime Minister after a contest dominated by questions about Sturgeon’s legacy. He is struggling to reinvigorate a party that is mired in opinion polls and divided over how best to advance the cause of independence.
The Conservatives initially chose Liz Truss to replace Johnson. He resigned six weeks after his tax cut budget caused chaos in financial markets and sent the value of the pound crashing. The party then installed Prime Minister Rishi Sunak, a technocrat who calmed the markets and restored some stability.
But Sunak still faces a rebel party that is trailing opposition Labor in opinion polls.
Michael Gove, a senior cabinet minister under Johnson and Sunak, said that while Johnson brought “colour and zest” to British politics, Sunak is a better prime minister who is bringing “professionalism and focus to government”.
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