LONDON, United Kingdom – In a bombshell announcement that reverberated through the chambers of British politics, former Prime Minister Boris Johnson resigned as a member of Parliament on Friday, June 9, 2023.
The once-commanding and charismatic Conservative leader lashed out at a House of Commons committee, accusing them of an orchestrated attempt to “drive me out.”
“I was bewildered and appalled,” Johnson stated, recounting the moment he received a letter from the committee investigating the notorious ‘Partygate’ scandal. The allegations suggest Johnson lied to lawmakers about parties held in violation of pandemic lockdown rules.
Johnson, a key figure in the Brexit saga, was taken aback by the tenacity of the committee’s probe. The letter, he said, made it unmistakably clear “they are determined to use the proceedings against me to drive me out of Parliament.”
The former Prime Minister was particularly incensed by the yet-unreleased Partygate report. He attacked the committee’s findings as “riddled with inaccuracies” and brimming with “prejudice.” Johnson contended that he had “no formal ability to challenge anything they say” under what he labeled an “absurd and unjust process.”
In response, Johnson penned a resignation letter to his association in Uxbridge and South Ruislip. “I am stepping down forthwith and triggering an immediate by-election,” he announced, marking an abrupt end to a storied, albeit divisive, political career.
Last year, the Metropolitan Police issued Johnson and then-finance minister (now Prime Minister) Rishi Sunak a fine for attending a Downing Street gathering during the Covid-19 lockdown, making Johnson the first sitting UK prime minister to be found guilty of breaking the law.
Johnson’s resignation enables him to control the narrative of his political exit. Rather than face potential public humiliation through a by-election or losing his seat in the next general election, he departs on his own terms.
This move provides a foundation for Johnson and his supporters to craft a legacy in which he accomplished great feats in office but was betrayed and ultimately forced out.
Friday’s statement also saw Johnson painting himself as a victim of “a witch hunt,” framed as retribution “for Brexit and ultimately to reverse the 2016 referendum result.”
He didn’t shy away from criticizing Sunak’s government, highlighting that the Conservatives’ lead in the polls has “massively widened” since his departure from office.
Despite the controversy, Boris Johnson’s political career was marked by his unique personality, a blend of jovial optimism and eccentric charm that won him fans beyond the traditional Conservative base.
His larger-than-life persona even made him a tolerable mayor to the liberal metropolis of London.
The controversies, however, shadow his triumphs, such as Brexit and the UK’s successful Covid-19 vaccine rollout. As he steps away from the political arena, Johnson will strive to be remembered as the leader who stood tall on the world stage and delivered on significant policy issues, not as the one who flouted his own Covid rules and ended his career in scandal.
His legacy, however, will ultimately be determined by the court of public opinion.
