Prime Minister Boris Johnson on Friday was fighting for his premiership following an exodus of senior aides and calls from within his own party for him to step down.
On Friday morning, Elena Narozanski, Boris Johnson’s special advisor on women and equalities, became the fifth adviser to walk out the door within 24 hours, according to British media reports.
She followed other top aides who quit Downing Street on Thursday as the fallout from a scandal dubbed “Partygate” continues to engulf the UK government and raise questions about the PM’s leadership. Munira Mirza, his head of policy who had worked with him for 14 years, resigned on Thursday over Johnson’s claim that Labour leader Keir Starmer failed to prosecute paedophile Jimmy Savile during his time as director of public prosecutions (DPP).
Johnson’s finance minister, Rishi Sunak, said pointedly that he would not have made such a remark. On Thursday night, Johnson’s communications director, chief of staff, and private secretary all announced their resignations.
Those revelations raised questions about Johnson’s often chaotic style of leadership and have led to the greatest threat to him since he took office. Johnson admitted that problems needed to be fixed at the heart of Downing Street, which serves as both his home and the nerve centre of the British state.
While opposition parties and some of Johnson's own lawmakers have called on him to quit, there is concern that toppling a British leader at this juncture would leave the West weakened as it faces a potential military crisis in Ukraine.
Dear Reader,
Business Standard has always strived hard to provide up-to-date information and commentary on developments that are of interest to you and have wider political and economic implications for the country and the world. Your encouragement and constant feedback on how to improve our offering have only made our resolve and commitment to these ideals stronger. Even during these difficult times arising out of Covid-19, we continue to remain committed to keeping you informed and updated with credible news, authoritative views and incisive commentary on topical issues of relevance.
We, however, have a request.
As we battle the economic impact of the pandemic, we need your support even more, so that we can continue to offer you more quality content. Our subscription model has seen an encouraging response from many of you, who have subscribed to our online content. More subscription to our online content can only help us achieve the goals of offering you even better and more relevant content. We believe in free, fair and credible journalism. Your support through more subscriptions can help us practise the journalism to which we are committed.
Support quality journalism and subscribe to Business Standard.
Digital Editor
RECOMMENDED FOR YOU