by In a large government room in the heart of Downing Street, as they awaited Boris Johnson for his decisive decision, a group of cabinet ministers were forced to meet with the prime minister’s closest allies in a strange manner. To join.
The delegation had slowly advanced over Wednesday evening. Nadeem Zahawi, who took office less than 24 hours ago, was joined by Home Secretary Priti Patel, Commerce Secretary Anne Marie Trevlian, Cabinet Secretary Kate Malt House, Welsh Secretary Simon Hart and Transport Secretary Grant. Shops were all available in different locations. Even Simon Clarke, the Treasury Secretary and one of Johnson’s most loyal supporters in the early days of his leadership campaign, joined by phone. “Everyone in the room agreed that the game was over,” said one attendee. “Every man was there to say it.”
Those who are still bowling for the PM did so with different convictions. James Dodgers, Johnson’s deputy minister, spoke enthusiastically. Cabinet Office Minister Nigel Adams and Communications Director Goto Harry came in and out. The most intriguing efforts to save Johnson’s prime ministership were made by Ben Elliott, Tory’s director, and Andrew Griffith, director of the 10 Policy Unit, just three years ago as the headquarters of Johnson’s leadership campaign in Westminster. Used as.
The ministers were forced to wait. Even in these late hours, Johnson’s inner circle is trying at the last minute to persuade them that he should stay in power. As the nerves paved the way for the hunger – the only food was a slow flow of tea and biscuits – some ministers were taken to separate rooms by the rest of Johnson’s loyalists as they tried to convince them that the boat could be fixed.
It was Zaheer who tried hard to convince Johnson’s team that it was over. “The flock is stamped,” he told them. “Once the herd is stamped, you have to get out of the way.” Griffith, whose dismissal behavior angered many ministers during the harsh evening, responded. He replied: “What you need to know is that the herd will get tired after a while and go back to eating grass.”
There were sanctions before the group met with the prime minister. First, Johnson had to complete his painful appearance before the liaison committee, made up of the selection committee directors, which turned out to be a fact as he had to wait 10 times for the ministers waiting for him. There was talk of an increase. As it turned out, David Kenzini, deputy chief of staff, told the interior that the appearance was “as bad as possible.”
Excitingly, Johnson again shared his regular updates – over the phone – with the Queen. Then a really tough conversation started. The first was a meeting with Graham Brady, chairman of the 1922 Tory Committee. He informed the prime minister – inactively sitting with his big wave, Chris Heaton – Harris – that party rules would be changed to allow a second no-confidence vote in the prime minister, which he would inevitably do. Lost. Johnson was lenient in rejecting the request outright.
Only then, and only one by one, were the assembled cabinet ministers allowed to meet with the prime minister to present their decisions. By all accounts, the Prime Minister remained in good spirits, but there was no sign that he was prepared to accept any reason. To some, he objected that it was unfair to be asked to leave a job he had been interested in for so long. To others, he argued, he had power not through black MPs, but through the 14 million voters who supported him. He said he was “indebted to them” for the fight. Some said he looked strangely happy and “has a lot of juice in the tank”. It made everything harder – but some found it frustrating.
“It’s weird that it’s become a bit Trumpian,” one said. “It’s all – ‘I don’t leave, I don’t see any boats, everything is fine. Another pressure and we’ll fix it. None of this is my fault. I’ve been a victim of drums – if only the party knew “It’s amazing how good I was.”
In fact, late Wednesday evening, figures in Westminster and Whitehall began to worry about how far Johnson would go in refusing to step down. The level of denial inside the bunker was too high for a cabinet minister. “They’re all crazy,” he told the frustrated friend. “They’re all crazy.”
By the time Northern Ireland Secretary Brandon Lewis flew in and down Downing Street to convey his decision to Johnson, resignations from party and government posts were nearly half a century old. Now there was a real doubt that the posts would be filled.
Even the worrying events of parliamentary sources had avenged Trump. They feared protests like the one in the United States if Johnson refused to leave. “People’s sovereignty is now our biggest fear,” a Commons source said, warning that a prolonged refusal to leave office could lead to divisive protests outside parliament. They were eager to avoid “Capitol Hill.”
Surprisingly, for a prime minister who has set himself up against the conventions and norms of the White Hall establishment, it was the silent but destructive intervention of an official who toppled Domino on Tuesday.
Sir Simon MacDonald, a former senior civil servant at the State Department, said that, despite repeated allegations, Johnson was aware of previous allegations about Chris Puncher, the deputy chief of staff, on charges of arresting two people. Postponed.
As strange as it may seem now, there were moments when Downing Street colleagues thought they could capture the slide created by this intervention.
Serious danger arose when colleagues saw photos of Tuesday morning’s cabinet meeting. With a lot of irony time, TV cameras were allowed to film it, ministers seemingly laughing and upset.
This was followed by a devastating summary with political journalists, in which Downing Street struggled to answer questions about exactly what the Prime Minister knew about the allegations against Puncher. It was decided that Johnson should appear in front of the camera as soon as possible, to apologize for managing his deal and to “eat something” to prevent his resignation.
As Johnson’s team members began watching the apologetic footage from his camera, they thought they might have acted swiftly to capture more damage. Then the news broke – Health Secretary Sajid Javed resigned and warned that the British people “rightly expect honesty from their government”. A few minutes later, Chancellor Reshi Sink followed suit with the same warning that the people “expect the government to be done properly, competently and seriously”.
It sounds like a cabinet-coordinated move, but as they wait for the other cabinet names to follow, no one has arrived. There is a strange trust in the Prime Minister’s inner circle that they will get through.
It was decided to replace two cabinet ministers. An insider said: “There was a feeling here, ‘Eat it. Most haven’t followed. We’ve got the best political appointments for what we need now. We’re living for another day of fighting.’ . ” Jacob Reese-Mogg went on the airwaves to compare the threat Johnson faced to Harold Macmillan in 1958, when his entire Treasury team resigned – a development Macmillan described as “a little local trouble.” Described as.
In fact, although a number of cabinet ministers have indicated they will not resign, members of the lower house have begun leaving their posts as deputies, deputy ministers and party deputies.
One of the most outspoken before leaving was Jonathan Glees, a Member of Parliament for Uber’s loyal “Red Wall.” The resignation began swiftly on Wednesday morning. Secretary-General Michael Gove also took the first major step to tell Johnson to go with dignity – an intervention that ended the crisis as the only person he fired by Johnson. His ouster caused immediate outrage in the government, including within 10.
A junior minister, Joe Churchill, released his letter during the prime minister’s insulting question in which Labor leader Kerr Starmer called the government’s poisoning “the first registered case of a sunken ship escaping from a mouse.”
The scene was stolen by Tory MP Gary Sambrooke, who praised opposition parties when he concluded that Johnson “always tries to blame other people for mistakes and take responsibility for them.” And there is nothing left but to resign. “
It was the beginning of the hardest insult Johnson had ever endured. This was followed by Javed’s resignation speech, in which Johnson tried to shake his head in frustration. By the time Javed had finished, Johnson’s left foot had repeatedly descended to the floor of the Commons room.
The deal changed dramatically a few hours later during a hearing at Johnson’s communications committee. Yes Merriman, one of the delegates to Johnson’s question, He tweeted his letter The prime minister has called for the beleagured PM to resign.
The mystery to many cabinet members who still saw the deviant Johnson on Wednesday evening is what caused him to change his mind and step back from Trump’s moment. Personalities close to him offer to reflect for a while in his private flat, along with the “cold light of the day”, meaning that on Thursday morning he was confronted with reality.
He first began work on the resignation letter and Nigel Adams was ordered to get Graham Brady back on the phone. When the pair spoke again at 8.30am, Johnson – once again relaxed – said he would agree to go. Still, there was a sticking point, however. Johnson wanted to hold a “surrender” party conference in October. Brady rejected the idea, warning that a new leader was needed through a party meeting.
He may have agreed to resign, but serious violations remained at Johnson’s resignation address on Thursday afternoon. He even seems to point to Zahoi’s efforts to make sense last evening, referring to Tory lawyers as “herdsmen.” He claimed: “When the herd moves, moves, and my friends in politics, no one is needed from afar.”
Violence erupted last Thursday night. In a The spectator The magazine’s party, Harry, was described as “shameless” by a special adviser to Michael Gove.
While an unusual week has disappointed some characters and angered others, one Downing Street insider has another very strong feeling: “I’m just relieved it’s over, be honest.”
