Members of his own party demand the resignation of the British Prime Minister
British Prime Minister Boris Johnson has fired Leveling Up Secretary Michael Gove in the cabinet amid a worsening political crisis and growing demands for his resignation.
The prime minister called Michael Gove on Wednesday evening to say he had been fired. The development comes at a time when several cabinet members, including Michael Gove, are demanding the resignation of Boris Johnson.
However, Boris Johnson is currently pursuing a policy of countering growing insurgency in his own cabinet and rejecting demands for his resignation.
He told senior members of the Commonwealth Committee that it would not be right for him to "step down" amid economic pressures and the Ukraine war.
Sources on Downing Street denied rumors that the prime minister would resign shortly.
Those who have spoken to the Prime Minister include Home Secretary Preity Patel, a former close ally, Chief Whip Chris Hatton Harris, Transport Secretary Grant Shops and Welsh Secretary Simon Hart.
Simon Hart later decided to resign, saying he wanted to help Boris Johnson "change the situation" but "this is no longer possible."
Boris Johnson's future as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom looks even more in jeopardy now.
After months of political turmoil, the health secretary and chancellor resigned within 10 minutes on Tuesday, frustrated by the prime minister's response to allegations of sexual harassment against the Conservative MP.
A series of resignations began, with at least 44 ministers and advisers resigning on Wednesday alone.
On Tuesday evening, a group of senior ministers went to Downing Street to try to persuade the prime minister to resign.
So far, however, Boris Johnson has been adamant and says he has no intention of resigning because he was given a "heavy mandate" by voters in the last election. His cabinet ally Jacob Rees Mogg compared the campaign against Boris Johnson to a "storm."
"It's like Rasputin's death," Andrew Mitchell, a Tory MP, told. He was poisoned, stabbed, shot and thrown into an icy river, but he is still alive.
One evening Chris Puncher's case of 'excessive drinking'
Nova Hoffman, 24, who began her career as a political reporter just four days ago at The Sun last Thursday, broke the news that a Conservative MP, Chris Puncher, had decided to resign as party whip because he Carlton drank 'too much' in the evening at the Private Members Club.
Chris Puncher told the prime minister in his resignation that he had "drunk too much" and "embarrassed himself in public."
However, the matter was much more serious. He is accused of indecently touching two people at a private members' club.
Two developments followed. One is that the government briefed the media that Puncher had admitted that his behavior was inappropriate so he would continue his work as a Member of Parliament and no would be taken further action against him.
Conservative MPs, however, were furious behind the apparent action.
One reason was that similar allegations had been made about the puncture in the past. But he was made the party's deputy chief whip by Boris Johnson. In addition to overseeing the discipline of MPs, the incumbents are given advice on personal issues.
How did the official position change?
However, a few days later, all attention was focused on the fact that Boris Johnson knew about the puncture and when he found out.
For several days, ministers and spokesmen for Boris Johnson insisted that the prime minister was unaware of the specific allegations against Puncher as deputy whip.
However, the statement died down Monday night when political correspondent Ivan Wells revealed that Boris Johnson had been notified of a formal complaint about Puncher's "inappropriate behavior" when he
He was the Foreign Minister in 2019-20.
A dramatic turn of events came on Tuesday when Sir Simon MacDonald, a former senior State Department official, revealed that Boris Johnson had been personally informed of the complaint.
Downing Street told reporters that Boris Johnson was aware of this but had "forgotten."
On Tuesday evening, Boris Johnson admitted that it was a "big mistake" to appoint Puncher as deputy chief whip earlier this year.
''By then, however, the damage had been done.''
Dramatic resignation
On Tuesday evening, Chancellor Rishi Sonak, who was in charge of the economy, resigned and the health secretary resigned.
Rishi Sonak wrote in his resignation that the people wanted the government to be run in a 'competent, serious and efficient manner'.
In a statement to Parliament on Wednesday, Sajid Javed, in the presence of Boris Johnson, said the issue "starts with the head" and "there will be no change."
Until Tuesday evening, Boris Johnson kept asking the rest of his cabinet who was with him and who was resigning.
Will Johnson resign? Or hold new general elections?
When Boris Johnson appeared before MP in the House of Commons on Wednesday, he vowed to deal with the storm.
When asked by a Conservative MP what the conditions would be for him to resign, he replied that he would "persevere" for the time being.
''The job of a prime minister is to keep working in a difficult situation, especially when you have been given a heavy mandate and that is what I am doing,'' Johnson said, referring to a landslide victory in the 2019 election.
Most of the cabinet ministers, including Home Secretary Preity Patel and Chancellor Nadeem Zhawi, are now calling for the resignation of the prime minister.
The prime minister could face a second vote of confidence next week after influential lawmakers told him he could change Conservative Party rules.
Some are also questioning whether Boris Johnson can strengthen his position by calling new general elections.
However, according to an opinion poll by Yugo, as of Tuesday, 69% of British citizens thought Boris Johnson should resign, and more than half of Conservative voters were of the same opinion.
Therefore, immediate elections will not be safe for them.