The squalor and ineptitude of Boris Johnson’s premiership damages not only the Conservative Party but the whole of the United Kingdom. It was only a month ago that 211 Tory MPs voted that they had confidence in the Prime Minister. At the time, the rebels warned that another scandal was inevitable because of Mr Johnson’s suspect moral character, and so it proved.
Downing Street’s lies over whether the Prime Minister knew about the past allegations against the former deputy chief whip, Chris Pincher, prompted a long overdue cabinet revolt. A man accused of sexual harassment was appointed to a position of power by a leader who reportedly referred to him as “Pincher by name, pincher by nature”. For Rishi Sunak, who had long contemplated resignation, and for Sajid Javid, who previously walked away from Johnson’s cabinet in February 2020, this proved too much.
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