Boris Johnson has resigned as a member of parliament, stating that the “kangaroo court” investigating him in relation to partygate is intent on finding him culpable.
The former prime minister announced his resignation from his Uxbridge and South Ruislip constituency in advance of the Privileges Committee’s report on whether he misled the House of Commons.
In a furious statement, he accused the cross-party group of MPs of being biassed and said he was “bewildered and appalled” that they were attempting to oust him from the legislature.
This week, the committee sent Mr. Johnson a “warning letter” delineating how it intends to censure him in its final report.
It has been investigating whether he misled the House of Representatives when he claimed there were no emergency parties in Downing Street.
The former prime minister stated that the committee had “still not produced a shred of evidence” that he acted “knowingly or recklessly”
However, “much to my surprise, they are determined to use the proceedings to force me out of the legislature.”
Mr. Johnson took aim at Harriet Harman, the Labour Party member who has been presiding over the investigation, claiming that she has supervised “egregious bias” against him.
“Before they had even seen the evidence, the majority of committee members, especially the chair, had already made deeply prejudicial remarks about my guilt,” he said.
“They should have self-excluded. Obviously, the Labour Party, the Liberal Democrats, and the SNP have an interest in removing me from Parliament by any means possible.”
His resignation will result in a second difficult by-election for Mr. Sunak, following the earlier Friday departure of his close ally Nadine Dorries from the House of Commons.
The Conservatives hold a majority of just over 7,000 in the constituency, which is now a top priority for Labour, which finished second in 2019.
In an extensive resignation statement, Mr. Johnson stated, “I did not lie, and I believe the committee knows this in their hearts.”
“However, they have willfully chosen to disregard the truth because, from the inception, their objective has not been to uncover the truth or to comprehend what I had in mind when I spoke in the House of Commons.
“Their intention from the start was to find me culpable, regardless of the evidence. This is a textbook example of a mock court.”
Mr. Johnson also took a parting shot at Rishi Sunak, criticising his successor for abandoning many of the pledges he made while in Downing Street and warning that the Conservatives risk a crushing defeat at the next election if they continue to sleepwalk.
Mr. Johnson added his voice to demands for the Prime Minister to immediately reverse his economic policies and implement tax cuts.
“Our party must regain its sense of momentum and its faith in what this country is capable of doing,” he said.
“We must demonstrate that we are maximising the benefits of Brexit, and we must establish a pro-growth and pro-investment agenda in the coming months.
“Instead of continually increasing business and individual taxes, we must reduce them – and not just as pre-election ploys.
“We must not be afraid to form a proper conservative government.”
As part of a new generation of Conservatives, the departing representative for Uxbridge and South Ruislip was first elected to the House of Commons in 2001, alongside David Cameron and George Osborne.
Before returning to Parliament in the 2015 general election, he would serve two terms as mayor of London, which he would win in the city’s capital, which traditionally votes Labour.
Due to his central position in securing the United Kingdom’s exit from the European Union, Mr. Johnson has been deemed one of the most influential prime ministers of recent decades.
He was the face of the Leave campaign in the 2016 referendum that resulted in the country voting for Brexit, and he secured the country’s departure when he took office on January 31, 2020.
After a flurry of ministerial resignations, Mr. Johnson’s three-year tenure in Downing Street came to an end; he assumed office in July 2019 and left in September 2022.
The news is complicated by the fact that Mr. Johnson has long been rumoured to be contemplating a change of constituency, given that his narrow majority in Uxbridge puts him at risk of defeat.
In his lengthy statement, Mr. Johnson left the door open for a potential return to the House of Commons, saying that he was departing “for now.”
However, it is unclear how and when such a restoration could occur. Before the end of the following year, there will be a general election, leaving little time for a U-turn.
His contentious relationship with Rishi Sunak, the Prime Minister who fled Mr. Johnson’s cabinet and precipitated his downfall, could complicate any attempt to be selected as the Tory candidate for a different seat.
Angela Rayner, the deputy leader of the Labour Party, stated following the announcement, “The British public is sick to death of this never-ending Tory soap opera acted out at their expense.
“Thirteen years of Conservative anarchy are sufficient.
It is time for a new beginning for Britain with a Labour government focused on the people’s priorities of addressing the expense of living crisis and constructing a better future.
Sir Michael Fabricant, who received a knighthood in the long-awaited resignation honours list for Boris Johnson, stated that the former prime minister received “disgraceful treatment” after resigning as an MP.
He tweeted, “Disgraceful treatment of a political leader who has made world history.”
English