Rishi Sunak faces tough byelections as Boris Johnson’s ally quits Parliament
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Rishi Sunak, the UK Prime Minister, is facing a leadership challenge with another friend of Boris Johnson leaving Parliament, triggering a third byelection. The results of previous byelections, along with internal party worries and demands for a general election, show the difficulties faced by the Conservative government.
Nigel Adams, the MP for Selby and Ainsty, unexpectedly resigned on the spot. This comes after he had already announced his plan to retire at the next general election. Boris Johnson, the former British prime minister, quit as an MP on June 9, saying that the ongoing parliamentary probe into the ‘partygate’ scandal was the reason for his decision.
Johnson had recommended Adams for a peerage (Members of the House of Lords, the upper house of Great Britain’s two-chambered), but he did not make the final list along with Nadine Dorries, Alok Sharma, and Alister Jack. Sunak had deliberately blocked Johnson’s allies from getting peerages to avoid difficult byelections.
Adams announced his resignation on Twitter, saying that the Selby Conservatives had picked a great new candidate for Parliament. He thanked his constituents for their support and said that it had been a privilege to represent the area where he grew up and went to school.
“Yesterday, Selby Conservatives selected an excellent new parliamentary candidate. I’ve today informed the chief whip that I will be standing down as a Member of Parliament with immediate effect. It has been an honour to represent the area where I was raised, educated and I want to thank my constituents for their wonderful support since 2010," Adams tweeted.
At the same time as Johnson’s, his former culture secretary Nadine Dorries said she was leaving as an MP right away. Before Dorries’ resignation, she had said her intention was not to cause a byelection in her seat. But eventually, she followed Johnson’s example, who criticized Sunak’s leadership and the ongoing Partygate inquiry.
The Conservative Campaign Headquarters (CCHQ) had been preparing for byelections for about a month, anticipating the possibility of Johnson and his friends accepting peerages.
These preparations involved identifying key issues in each seat and deciding which ministers should visit each constituency and for what purposes. There is speculation that other MPs, such as Alok Sharma, may also quit in protest.
The Liberal Democrat deputy leader, Daisy Cooper, urged the Conservative party to call a general election, saying that the party is in turmoil and has failed to address healthcare and the cost of living crisis. She thinks the public should have the chance to pass judgment on the current Conservative government.
Some Tory MPs are concerned that the party may lose all three byelections. They argue that Sunak should learn from these results, highlighting the need to address internal conflicts, uphold the 2019 manifesto, and avoid giving control of the government to Jeremy Hunt.
Michael Naughton, the Conservative candidate for Adams’ Selby and Ainsty constituency, is considered an excellent choice. Labour is expected to win in Uxbridge, a seat that Johnson may be trying to avoid, possibly in favor of a safer seat like Henley. The Liberal Democrats have been actively campaigning in Mid-Bedfordshire.
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