It is over. He has gone. UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson finally left 10 Downing Street kicking and screaming. Johnson’s resignation yesterday puts him among the top four shortest serving British Prime Ministers in the post-war period – it also means he has lasted less time in office than Theresa May. This after Johnson gave the Conservatives the biggest majority since 1979, and even until last week, hoped to be in office till the 2030s. Finally, in his resignation speech, he said: “No one is remotely indispensable.” That is the irony of politics.
Johnson became Prime Minister on 24 July 2019 and held the post for only two years and 348 days. His tenure in office was scarred with sleaze and scandal, but even after the 6 June vote of no-confidence against him, voted for by 148 MPs, Johnson dug his heels in deeper. The biographer of several former Prime Ministers, Sir Anthony Seldon, said, “No one has been as obstinate as Boris Johnson in British politics, and neither has a premiership exploded so publicly.” Calling it a “farce”, he said Johnson was dragged and pushed in the final days, hoping the transition can be orderly.
Boris Johnson’s resignation yesterday puts him among the top four shortest serving British PMs in the post-war period – it also means he has lasted less time in office than Theresa May.
The Indian community in the UK is a critical stakeholder in British politics and has made a significant shift towards the Conservatives from Labour in recent years.
Most Indians had been unhappy with Johnson’s government. A senior tax professional in London, Priyanka Raizada, said, “Boris Johnson has been unfit to be Prime Minister from day one."
London-based broadcaster Pervaiz Alam added to that thought: “The diaspora of Indian and Pakistani origin are hoping that Rishi Sunak and Sajid Javid will throw their hat in the ring to become the next Prime Minister.
'Boris Goes, Brexit Goes'
Lord Michael Heseltine, a Tory biggie, was scathing in his attack on Johnson and how he has affected the Conservative Party. Talking of Johnson’s legacy, he said, “Boris is connected to one policy – Brexit. Boris goes Brexit goes. We need new leadership which will restore sanity to our relationship with Europe. It is clear Right wing-ism is a suicide course for the Tory party, Centrism needs to be restored.”
He added, “His premiership has helped trashing Britain’s international reputation and the reputation of the Tories.”
Indeed, even Boris’s resignation has been a spectacle that rolled on for weeks, with him resisting it with his Trumpian claims that he has a mandate of 14 million votes.
Indeed, even Boris’s resignation has been a spectacle that rolled on for weeks, with him resisting it with his Trumpian claims that he has a mandate of 14 million votes. As he goes, he will be remembered as a great communicator who got Brexit done, for his contribution to help in the Ukraine war, but who fundamentally didn’t listen and became Presidential. I would not be surprised if there will be comparisons drawn in more detail between him and Trump.
This entire saga turned into ‘Murder on The Orient Express’ with everybody having his/her hand dipped in blood, including his key supporters, such as Home Secretary Priti Patel. But now, with his exit comes the obvious question: Who will be his successor? Senior Tory leaders and both Opposition parties – Labour and Liberal Democrats – are against Johnson continuing as caretaker Prime Minister till the election of a new leader. Currently, Trade Minister Penny Mordaunt, viewed in the party as having strong pro-Brexit credentials, charisma and good leadership qualities, is the favourite for succeeding Johnson.
Former Chancellor Rishi Sunak, who resigned earlier this week, is the second most likely candidate. Defence Secretary Ben Wallace, Foreign Secretary Liz Truss, and former Health Secretary Sajid Javid make up the rest of the top five contenders to replace Johnson. But in a YouGov poll of Conservative party members, Defence Secretary Ben Wallace is leading with 48% votes, ahead of Rishi Sunak and Liz Truss with 29% votes each. It's not over till it is not over. Things can change rapidly.
'A Govt Defined by Incompetence & Sleaze'
Amidst this turbulent time, I cannot overlook what the Indian diaspora feels as it is a critical stakeholder in British politics and has made a significant shift towards the Conservatives from Labour in recent years. Mira Mishra Kaushik, a cultural activist, told me, “In the long run, Johnson will be remembered as someone who divided the Asian community into different religious groups during his tenure as the Mayor of London. He took the same policy into the affairs of Downing Street. This situation created segregated parochial vote bank silos, eventually isolating the wider communities.”
Most Indians have been unhappy with Johnson’s time at 10 Downing Street. A senior tax professional with a Big 4 company in London, Priyanka Raizada, said:
“Boris Johnson has been unfit to be Prime Minister from day one. He has presided over a government defined by utter lack of integrity, incompetence and sleaze. The hope is that he is not succeeded by any of those who enabled him despite knowing his character from the start, including Mr Sunak. We need a general election to kick this whole government out or we might as well have Larry the Cat (official chief mouser of 10 Downing Street) lead us.”
While many Indians would want to see an Indian-origin Prime Minister, opposition politicians and many in the Tory party do not want any of Johnson’s acolytes in office, who supported him for too long and resigned only when they feared for their personal survival. As Kaushik said, “Sunak is Prince Charming who looks and sounds like young Tony Blair. He was very convincing initially, but unsure now.”
Looking at the ongoings over the past several weeks, Mukesh Kacker, a former Indian IAS officer now living in London, said:
“The present crisis in the Conservative Party has been a long time coming. The surprise is that it took so long to precipitate. However, one cannot but admire the British Parliamentary system where everything is discussed in Parliament and the Prime Minister is not spared in any way if he lies or misinforms Parliament. This is true supremacy of the Parliament, not seen in any other democracy in the world.”
“It will be interesting to see who is elected as the next leader of the Tory Party to take over as Prime Minister. As an Indian, I will certainly like to see Sunak as the next PM,” says Kacker.
But Many Indians Still Support the Conservative Party
London-based broadcaster Pervaiz Alam added to that thought: “The diaspora of Indian and Pakistani origin are hoping that Sunak and Javid will throw their hat in the ring to become the next Prime Minister. But I think both of them do not enjoy the support within the Conservative Party needed for the top job.
“However, it’s important to assert that the Conservative Party has made inroads into the voting block of people of Indian origin. Most of the voters of Pakistani origin remain loyal to Labour Party. However, Johnson’s resignation has given another reason to the South Asian diaspora to remain engaged with British politics at the highest level.”
Indian-origin Isha McDougall, ACA, at FNZ, said, “I’m a Tory supporter, I voted for Boris but today I’m disappointed. The opacity, lack of transparency and lies is not what I want in my Prime Minister. But that does not mean I will not support the Conservative Party.”
A Prime Minister who came in with the largest majority on the plank of “getting an oven-ready Brexit done” has departed as a lonely, humiliated man, not having enough members of his own party to even fill ministerial positions, and is leaving the country in the midst of a cost-of-living crisis.
Politics can be brutal and unpredictable. As most often said, all political careers end in failure.
But it is now time for the UK to heal and undo the damage done to Parliament and parliamentary codes and bring back the democratic norms that the country and its people deserve.
(Nabanita Sircar is a senior journalist based in London. She tweets at @sircarnabanita. This is an opinion piece and the views expressed above are the author’s own. The Quint neither endorses nor is responsible for the same.)
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