Johnson resigns from Commons in protest of MPs’ ‘kangaroo court’

Boris Johnson has announced he is leaving the Commons with immediate effect, in a dramatic move that triggers a by-election that the Tories could lose and puts serious pressure on Rishi Sunak.

The former prime minister said in a statement on Friday he was stepping down as an MP in protest at the “kangaroo court” privileges committee inquiry into whether he lied to MPs about lockdown parties in Downing Street .

It came hours after Number 10 published Johnson’s resignation honors list, in which he rewarded aides and aides with other gongs, and days after passing the draft findings of the Privileges Committee inquiry.

Accusing the panel of MPs of conducting a “political hit job” despite not finding “a single piece of evidence” against him, he said he was being “coerced” by the committee, making clear his belief that it was a one-way street. Was on Severe sanctions against him for sparking bypolls.

Taking the initiative to quit on his own terms, he said it was not in anyone’s interest. , , That the process that the committee has begun should continue for another day.” He announced that he was giving up his Uxbridge and South Ruislip seat, which he has represented since 2015.

Hinting at his desire to return to the Commons, he said he was leaving parliament “for now” – prompting a warning to Sunak.

The former prime minister indirectly criticized his successor, saying that under Sunak’s leadership the parliamentary majority was “clearly at risk” and that the government needed to be “appropriately conservative”.

Johnson has “passively abandoned” seeking a UK-US trade deal, as well as “passively” repealing all EU legislation, helping people with housing and promoting animal welfare. Sunak was also lambasted for being “abandoned”.

Opposition parties seized on the news, with Daisy Cooper, deputy leader of the Liberal Democrats, calling it “good riddance”. He was accused of “jumping before he can be pushed” by the SNP’s deputy Westminster leader, Mhairi Black. Labour’s Angela Rayner said the public was “sick of the back teeth of this never-ending Tory soap opera”.

Johnson’s second blow of the day was a parliamentary resignation, with his close aide Nadine Dorries announcing she was leaving the Commons “with immediate effect”. The move follows a by-election in his Mid Bedfordshire constituency.

The former culture secretary’s exit came after claims she was among a group of Tory MPs who refused the peerage because Sunak did not want to risk by-elections which the party could lose.

The prime minister’s press secretary dismissed suggestions that any names were responsible for the removal, as well as seeking to strip Sunak of those honors, saying: “She had no involvement or input on the approved list. “

While Dorries has a 24,664 majority, the by-election could reverse that. Another Conservative majority of over 24,000 was overturned by the Liberal Democrats in a by-election in Tiverton and Honiton last year.

Johnson will face a tough fight in the Greater London seat. He had won in 2019 by a margin of 7,210 votes.

Earlier on Friday his resignation honors list revealed he had rewarded allies including Eurosceptic MPs, a Tory mayor facing questions about a regeneration project, and a former official embroiled in Partygate .

It followed months of tension between supporters of Sunak and Johnson over the list, which included seven peers and 38 other honorees.

Johnson nominated loyal Conservative MPs Jacob Rees-Mogg, Connor Burns, Simon Clarke and Michael Fabricant for knighthoods, while Priti Patel, Andrea Jenkins and Amanda Milling received damehoods.

Veteran Eurosceptic Tory MP Sir Bill Cash has been made a member of the Order of the Companions of Honour.

Tees Valley Mayor Ben Houchen, who is facing a government-commissioned review of his regeneration project called Teesworks in north-east England, was raised to the peerage.

And senior people who served in Downing Street during the Partygate saga were rewarded. They included Johnson’s former principal private secretary, Martin Reynolds, who was nominated to be a companion of the bath. Reynolds was previously dubbed the “Party Marty” by tabloid media after holding a “bring your own booze” gathering at Number 10 Gardens in May 2020 during the Covid lockdown.

Johnson nominated his former chief of staff, Dan Rosenfield, to the peerage, who left Downing Street in the space of 24 hours in February 2022 as the row over Partygate escalated.

Ben Elliott, a former Tory co-chairman who faced scrutiny over the overlap between his business interests and fundraising duties for the party, was awarded a knighthood.

Media executive Will Lewis, a former journalist for the Financial Times who served as a political adviser to Johnson, also received a knighthood.

Johnson appointed his hairdresser to the Order of the British Empire.

Opposition parties urged Sunak to block Johnson’s resignation list before publication, with Labor pressuring the prime minister not to approve the awards for a “carousel of cronies”.

Shadow immigration minister Stephen Kinnock accused Sunak of “bowing” to pressure from warring factions within the Tory party by accepting the list.

The length of Johnson’s list was in keeping with respect for recent resignations by former prime ministers. Theresa May’s list includes eight Conservative peers and 41 other honours. David Cameron has 13 Tory peers and 46 other honours.