Press play to listen to this article
Voiced by artificial intelligence.
LONDON – Britain’s ruling Conservatives believed the ethics scandals during Boris Johnson’s premiership would finally be consigned to the history books after they ousted him as leader last year.
It hasn’t turned out quite like that.
Monday announced the investigation Conservative Party chairman Nadim Zahawi’s tax affairs followed a series of damaging allegations about the historic conduct of senior ministers in Rishi Sunak’s administration, which has left Tory MPs fearing further public backlash.
James Johnson, a former Downing Street pollster, warned: “Yesterday and today must have felt a lot like a few days under Boris.” “It creates a perception among the public that things haven’t changed much since last year.”
Boris Johnson’s disregard for the rules was well known even before he became prime minister, and the incessant rumble of scandals The surrounding of his leadership ultimately proved fatal. His government fell under a stream of revelations last summer over illegal lockdown parties and claims he ignored warnings about misconduct by a senior aide.
Seeking to replace Johnson as prime minister, Rishi Sunak vowed to do away with the sled sled around Downing Street and “lead the world” in “honesty, decency and standards of leadership”. Sledge is a British term for political misconduct, which includes everything from inappropriate lobbying to sexual harassment and outright corruption.
But since entering Number 10 Downing Street, Sunak has found it difficult to shake off the lingering stench of scandal.
Within days of his appointment Sunak was hit by a wave of historic bullying allegations against cabinet minister Gavin Williamson, a key figure in Sunak’s leadership campaign, who resigned rather than cause further embarrassment to the new PM .
This was followed by bullying claims against Sunak’s newly-installed Deputy and Justice Secretary, Dominic Raab, which are currently being investigated by barrister Adam Tolley. Raab denies any wrongdoing.
Sunak himself has not been immune to controversies. already stung by his performance last year Controversial non-domicile tax status of wifeSunak has since received two fixed-fine notices from the police: one for participating birthday party for johnson at the height of the pandemic, and for a failure to wear seat belt Last week in a moving car.
This weekend saw the most damning moment yet, when Tory chairman Zahawi admitted to allegedly settling a multimillion-pound tax dispute while serving as UK chancellor under Johnson last summer. Sunak has have now ordered an inquiry in his tax matters. Opposition leaders are demanding Zahavi’s sacking.
Meanwhile, Johnson himself was later referred to as the watchdog of parliamentary standards. The Sunday Times reported that he had discussed personal loan guarantees of up to £800,000 with the new chairman of the BBC a few weeks before he was recommended for the role.
‘Legacy issues’
Sunak’s aides say he is committed to upholding his promise to raise standards, citing the appointment of a new ethics adviser – a post controversially left vacant under Johnson.
His official spokesman said that there were “legitimate questions” to answer about Zahavi’s tax matters and that the decision to open an investigation demonstrated that Sunak takes the matter seriously.
Others argue that the perceived lapses of behavior that filled Sunak’s in-tray are at least partly a hangover from the slapdash governance of his predecessor. A senior government official put it succinctly: “These are legacy issues.”
“he [Sunak] really trying [to clear things up],” insisted a cabinet minister. Referring to the Zahavi investigation, he said: “You don’t throw a colleague under the bus without due process – not least because you don’t want to anger them on the backbench.”
But questions have been raised about Sunak’s ability to act decisively.
A Tory MP suggested that since the controversy over Sunak’s wife’s taxes, “it seems that it is clearly nobody who has got the decision right” and that there is a continuing “naiveness” about the PM.
That gullibility was on display again last week when Sunak published a social media video of himself in a moving car without wearing a seatbelt, a move many lawmakers agreed.
A senior member of former PM Liz Truss’ campaign staff said Sunak’s lofty words about honesty had always struck him as hostage to fate, “given that you never know what’s going to happen – EXCLUSIVE formally with the Tory Party as it is.” He suggested that Sunak should give himself some “breathing space” on the issue.
Britain’s parliament has been shocked multiple malpractice claims Covered most of the major political parties in the last one year. A record number of MPs are currently sitting as independents after being suspended from their parties.
Philip Cowley, professor of politics at Queen Mary University London (QMUL), said: “Crazy is basically being able to demonstrate that he is different, but to demonstrate integrity – actually being different – me. Not sure this will be enough to deal with the issues that come up.
To execute a meaningful overhaul of standards, he suggested, Sunak would need to “throw Johnson under a bus – and he can’t do that for party management reasons.”
colors of ’97
While Sunak sought to make the contrast with Johnson his major selling point, the window to make that case persuasively seems to be closing.
Pollster James Johnson predicted that the Zahavi case would “cut across” with the public because it speaks to basic concepts of fairness.
Johnson suggested, “If he puts the lid on it very quickly and takes action, he could look strong,” but the longer the opportunity fades.
Even before the latest Zahawi and Boris Johnson stories broke, a former minister described the rolling sledge scandals as the biggest existential threat to the Conservative Party.
“The feel of the 1997 defeat is gone,” he said, in reference to Tony Blair’s historic Labor victory over the Conservative John Major following numerous revelations about corruption and misconduct among Tory MPs.
Indeed, looking back on the 1990s is unlikely to provide much reassurance for Sunak’s party. Like Sunak, Major had vowed to root out inertia in the party, but the voters decided they wanted rid of him anyway.
QMUL’s Cowley observed that many of the allegations at the time were “pretty trivial and some would not even count as scandals today” while the MPs’ recent follies, if anything, were “much worse”.
Annabelle Dixon contributed reporting.