Further Blows To Johnson As Resignations Continue (Updated List)

The blows keep on coming for embattled Prime Minister Boris Johnson.

If the resignations of two key cabinet members yesterday (Health Minister Sajid Javid and Chancellor Rishi Sunak) several other conservative ministers have decided to hand in their notice as well.

UPDATED: 10:010 8th July 2022

1. Sajid Javid – Health Secretary -18:02 Tuesday 5th July (Tweet)
2. Rishi Sunak – Chancellor – 18:11 Tuesday 5th July (Tweet)
3. Andrew Murrison – Trade Envoy to Morocco – 19:00 Tuesday 5th July (Tweet)
4. Bim Afolami – Con. Party Vice Chair – 19:28 Tuesday 5th July (Live video resignation)
5. Jonathan Gullis – PPS (Private Parliamentary Secretary) – Northern Ireland 19:48 Tuesday 5th July (Letter shared via Richard Price)
6. Saqib Bhatti – PPS – Health and Social Care – 19:51 Tuesday 5th July (Tweet)
7. Nicola Richards – PPS (Transport) – 20:27 Tuesday 5th July (Tweet)
8. Virginia Crosbie – PPS (Wales) – 20:55 Tuesday 5th July (Letter Shared via TLDR News)
9. Theo Clarke – Trade envoy to Kenya – 22:01 Tuesday 5th July (Tweet)
10. Alex Chalk – Solicitor General – 22:51 Tuesday 5th July (Tweet)
11. Laura Trott – PPS (Transport) – 08:07 Wednesday 6th July
12. Will Quince – Education Minister – 08:25 Wednesday 6th July (Tweet)
13. Robin Walker – Education Minister – 09.43 Wednesday 6th July (Tweet)
14. Felicity Buchan – PPS (Business) – 11;05 Wednesday 6th July (Tweet)
15. John Glen – Treasury Minister – 11:06 Wednesday 6th July (Tweet)
16. Victoria Atkins – Justice Minister – 11:41 Wednesday 6th July (Confirmation from Mirror Breaking News)
17. Jo Churchill – DEFRA – 12:01 Wednesday 6th July (Tweet)
18. Stuart Andrew – Housing Minister – 12:41 Wednesday 6th July (Tweet)
19. Selaine Saxby – PPS DEFRA – 13:30 Wednesday 6th July (Tweet)
20. Julia Lopez – Media, Data & Digital Infrastructure Minister – 14:24 Wednesday 6th July (Tweet)
21. Lee Rowley – Minister For Industry – 14:24 Wednesday 6th July (Tweet)
22. Alex Burghart – Minister For Education – 14:24 Wednesday 6th July (Tweet)
23. Kemi Badenoch – Equalities Minister – 14:25 Wednesday 6th July (Tweet)
24. Mims Davies – Employment Minister – 14:26 Wednesday 6th July (Tweet)
25. Neil O’Brien – Minister for Levelling Up – 14:31 Wednesday 6th July (Tweet)
26. Duncan Baker – PPS (Levelling Up) – 15:05 Wednesday 6th July (Facebook)
27. Craig Williams – PPS to the Chancellor – 15:22 Wednesday 6th July (Tweet)
28. Mark Logan – PPS – 15:32 Wednesday July (Tweet)
29. Rachel Maclean – Minister for Safeguarding – 15:38 6th July (Tweet)
30. Mike Freer – Minister for Exports & Minister for Equalities – 16:09 Wednesday 6th July (Confirmation via Beth Rigby)
31. Mark Fletcher – PPS To the Secretary of State for BEIS – 16:30 Wedensday 6th July (Confirmation via Rachel Wearmouth)
32. Ruth Edward – PPS To Scotland Office – 16:48 Wednesday 6th July (Confirmation via Hugh Casswell)
33. Sara Britcliffe – PPS Education – 16:49 Wednesday 6th July (Tweet)
34. Peter Gibson – PPS to Party Chairman – 17:14 Wednesday 6th July (Tweet)
35. David Diguid – Fisheries & Trade envoy – 17:51 Wednesday 6th July (Confirmed via Beth Rigby)
36. James Sunderland – PPS at DEFRA – 18:18 Wednesday 6th July (Confirmed via Bracknell News)
37. Jacob Young – PPS for Levelling Up – 20:39 Wednesday 6th July (Tweet)
38. David Mundell – Trade Envoy to New Zealand – 21:22 Wednesday 6th July (Tweet)
39. James Daly – PPS Work & Pensions – 21:25 Wednesday 6th July (Tweet)
40. Danny Kruger – PPS Levelling Up – 21:36 Wednesday 6th July (Tweet)
41. Simon Hart – Secretary of State for Wales – 22:33 Wednesday 6th July (Tweet)
42. Edward Agar – Minister of State For Health – 22:49 Wednesday 6th July (Confirmation from Kitty Donaldson)
43. Dr James Davies – PPS (Health) – 23:25 Wednesday 6th July (Tweet)
44. Gareth Davies – PPS (Health) – 23:54 Wednesday 6th July (Tweet)
45. Claire Coutinho – PPS Treasury – Wednesday 6th July (no time given)
46. David Johnston – PPS Education – Wednesday 6th July (no time given)
47. Brandon Lewis – Secretary of State for Northern Ireland – 07:00 Thursday 7th July (Confirmation via BBC News)
48. Helen Whatley – Treasury Dept – 07:00 Thursday 7th July (Confirmation via BBC News)
49. Damian Hinds – Security Minister – 07:15 Thursday 7th July (Tweet)
50. George Freeman – Science Minister – 07:21 Thursday 7th July (Tweet)
51. Guy Opperman – Pensions Minister – 07:50 Thursday 7th July (Tweet)
52. James Cartridge – Courts Minister – 08:09 Thursday 7th July (Tweet)
53. Chris Philp – Technology – 08:12 Thursday 7th July (Confirmation via BBC News)
54. Michelle Donelan – Education Secretary (less than 24 hours after appointment) – 08:51 Thursday 7th July (Tweet)
55. Dr Caroline Johnson – Vice Chair to Conservative Party – 09:05 Thursday 7th July (Tweet)
56. Rob Butler – PPS to Foreign Secretary – 09:08 Thursday 7th July (Tweet)
57. Luke Hall – Deputy Chair Conservative Party – 09:08 Thursday 7th July (Tweet)
58. Richard Graham – Trade Envoy to South East Asia – 09:30 Thursday 7th July (Tweet)
59. Rebecca Pow – Environment Minister – 10:13 Thursday 7th July (Tweet)

Sackings

• 20:18 – Boris Johnson has sacked Michael Gove via the BBC

Not Resigned But Have Threatened To

• Fay Jones MP for Brecon & Rednorshire (Confirmation via Beth Rigby)

Corrections

20:47 6th July: The BBC had reported that Brandon Lewis had resigned, they have now retracted this statement. Original source tweet from Annita McVeigh here. Correction from William Crawley here.

Additional Resignations

• Chris Pincher – Deputy Whip – 30th June
• Olive Dowden – Deputy Chair – 24th June
• John Lamont – PPS Foreign Secretary – 6th June
• Paul Holmes – PPS Home Secretary – 27th May
• Lord Wolfson – Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Justice – 13th April
• Angela Richardson – PPS Levelling Up – 31st January
• Lord Agnew – Minister for Efficiency and Transformation – 24th January

Withdrawal Of Support

Chair of the Commons and MP for Harlow, Robert Halfon, also withdrew support for the Prime Minister in a letter he shared to twitter:

Orignal Tweet

In his letter (which you can view in full here), Halfon states:

“I gave the Prime Minister the benefit of the doubt before. I saw the Prime Minister in January and urged him to return to being the Prime Minister that people voted for in 2019. This has not happened.
I can’t bring myself to do this again and refuse to do so.
I am naturally a loyal Conservative. I have constantly challenged the Government on policy …. But I never have before come out against a party leader. Until now.
Government is not working for most people, whether it is GP services or getting a Passport. Millions are still struggling with the cost of living. Much policy delivery is a mirage. There is little trust in the Prime Minister.
For this reason, if there is a vote for a change in leadership, I will now vote for that change.”

Lee Anderson, MP for Ashfield, also withdrew support with a post on Facebook:

Chris Skidmore, MP for Kingswood also withdrew his support for the Prime Minister in a letter on the 6th of July

Sally-Ann Hart, MP for Hastings and Rye

Simon Fell, MP for Barrow & Furness

Simon Hoare, MP for North Dorset

Anthony Brown, MP for South Cambridgeshire

Julian Knight, MP for Solihull

Huw Merriman – Chair of Transport Select Committee an MP for Bexhill & Battle

Note that Merriman tweeted this while sat opposite Boris Johnson at a Liaison Committee meeting – that shade of that move!

Dehenna Davison, MP for Bishop Auckland

Suella Braverman, MP for Fareham and Attorney General says that she will stand in a leadership bid on live TV (she has not resigned her position before this announcement)

Matt Hancock tells Peston that the PM needs to resign

Who’s Taken Over?

Nadhim Zahwai has been appointed Chancellor – amid rumours that he threatened to resign if he wasn’t offered to top role, although he has fiercely deined these claims^[1]Independent: Boris Johnson – live: Zahawi denies threatening to quit as two more ministers resign.

Steve Barclay (no, me neither) is appointed Health Secretary.

Michelle Donelan has been appointed Education Secretary – this is an interesting choice as she’s engaged to Tom Turner who won PPE contracts worth £365 million, Turner’s uncle won contracts worth £40 million and Turner’s father won a £1.1 million contract to make visors even though he runs a footwear manufacturing business – and the contract was awarded without competition^[2]Good Law Project: REVEALED: Minister’s partner’s firm awarded lucrative Covid contracts. So this could be a risky appointment for the PM

Why Is This Happening?

The resignations come after revelations that Johnson was aware that Chris Pincher was problematic and had been accused of sexual misconduct before being appointed Deputy Chief Whip in 2019.

Pincher has been accused of further sexual misconduct after groping two men in a private members club. He was suspended from the Conservative party last week, with Johnson only agreeing to act after a formal complaint was made to the Independent Complaints and Grievance Scheme^[3]BBC News: Chris Pincher suspended as Tory MP after groping allegation despite calls for him to do so much earlier.

Pincher quit his government role on Thursday, saying he had “drunk far too much” and “embarrassed myself and other people”. The MP for Tamworth also said that he was seeking professional medical support and has denied previous allegations of misconduct.

What’s Next For Johnson And The Conservative Party?

There is due to be a reshuffle in the 1922 Committee (which oversees votes of no confidence), with nominations for its executive taking place tonight (6th July).

Because Johnson survived a vote of no confidence last month, under the current rules a new challenge cannot be brought for another year – unless the 1922 change the rules which is entirely possible if the executive pushes the rule change through.

MPs are sitting until the 21st July so they will have to act quickly if they want to force another vote before the summer recess – a move that would be unprecidented in terms of speed and