Universities minister Sam Gyimah becomes seventh minister latest to quit over Brexit deal
From Daily Mirror: Sam Gyimah has become the seventh member of the government to quit since Theresa May unveiled her Brexit plan.
Category: #ToryResignations
#ToryResignations
Who are the 14 ministers that have quit under May since the 2017 general election?
From the Morning Star: Theresa May, barely clinging on to her job as it is, has now lost her second Brexit secretary since the role was created, after only being in the job a matter of months. Here are all the ministers who have left their posts since the 2017 general election:
- Michael Fallon
- Priti Patel
- Damian Green
- Justine Greening
- Amber Rudd
- David Davis
- Boris Johnson
- Tracey Crouch
- Jo Johnson
- Shailesh Vara
- Dominic Raab
- Esther McVey
- Suella Braverman
- Anne-Marie Trevelyan
McVey and Raab quit over Brexit deal
From The Guardian: The work and pensions secretary, Esther McVey, has become the second senior minister to quit the Tory cabinet, following the Brexit secretary, Dominic Raab, out of the door and throwing Theresa May’s government into turmoil.
McVey, an arch Brexiter who was known to be unhappy with the prime minister’s Brexit plans, said they had failed to “honour the result” of the referendum and had crossed her own red lines for leaving the EU.
During a tense five-hour cabinet meeting on Wednesday, McVey twice called for a vote to be taken on the deal. In her resignation letter to May, she wrote: “We have gone from no deal is better than a bad deal, to any deal is better than no deal.”
Her departure came after Raab resigned as Brexit secretary saying he “cannot in good conscience” support the deal agreed by the cabinet, kicking off what was expected to be a day of turmoil for the prime minister as she struggles to retain control of her party.
One of Raab’s junior ministers, Suella Braverman, a former chair of the hardline Brexit ERG group of Tory backbenchers, also quit, saying that the public would see the plans as “a betrayal”.
Jo Johnson quits as minister over Theresa May’s Brexit plan
From The Guardian: Jo Johnson has resigned from the government, saying he cannot support Theresa May’s Brexit deal, and MPs are being offered a choice between “vassalage and chaos”.
The MP for Orpington and rail minister published an article saying he could not vote for the deal which May is expected to bring back to parliament within weeks – and instead would be campaigning for a second referendum.
“It has become increasingly clear to me that the withdrawal agreement, which is being finalised in Brussels and Whitehall even as I write, will be a terrible mistake,” he said in an online article.
Jo Johnson said the public were being offered “an agreement that will leave our country economically weakened, with no say in the EU rules it must follow and years of uncertainty for business” or a no-deal Brexit “that I know as a transport minister will inflict untold damage on our nation”.
“To present the nation with a choice between two deeply unattractive outcomes, vassalage and chaos, is a failure of British statecraft on a scale unseen since the Suez crisis.”
Tory minister resigns after sending constituents explicit messages
From The Guardian: Andrew Griffiths, the minister for small business, has resigned from the government after being found to have sent more than 2,000 explicit messages to two women in his constituency.
The Conservative MP for Burton, and Theresa May’s former chief of staff, released a statement saying apologising for what he had done, after the texts were put to him by the Sunday Mirror.
In the statement, the 47-year-old junior minister said: “I am deeply ashamed at my behaviour which has caused untold distress to my wife and family, to whom I owe everything, and deep embarrassment to the prime minister and the government I am so proud to serve.
He said he would be seeking professional help to address his unacceptable behaviour sending sex texts. “I do not seek to excuse my behaviour and will be seeking professional help to ensure it never happens again.
Boris Johnson resigns as Foreign Secretary
From The Guardian: Boris Johnson has resigned as foreign secretary, becoming the third minister in 24 hours to walk out of the government rather than back Theresa May’s plans for a soft Brexit.
The prime minister hammered out a compromise with her deeply divided cabinet in an all-day meeting at Chequers on Friday, but after consulting friends and allies since, Johnson decided he could not promote the deal.
A Downing Street spokesman said: “This afternoon, the prime minister accepted the resignation of Boris Johnson as foreign secretary. His replacement will be announced shortly. The prime minister thanks Boris for his work.”
After the Chequers summit, it emerged that Johnson had referred to attempts to sell the prime minister’s Brexit plan as ‘polishing a turd’.
His resignation follows that of the Brexit secretary, David Davis, and his No 2 at the Department for Exiting the EU, Steve Baker.
David Davis resigns as Brexit secretary
From The Independent: David Davis has quit his cabinet job following a major row with Theresa May over her plans for post-Brexit relations with the EU.
Greg Hands quits as minister to vote against Heathrow third runway
From The Guardian: Theresa May is facing a fresh crisis after her international trade minister quit in protest at the proposed expansion of Heathrow days before a crunch vote on the issue.
Greg Hands, whose constituency lies under the flightpath, announced he would step down so he could vote against the government’s plans for a third runway in the Commons on Monday.
The announcement increased the pressure on the foreign secretary, Boris Johnson, another staunch critic of Heathrow expansion, to stand by his principles and vote against the government’s plans.
The prime minister confirmed on Thursday that Johnson was scheduled to be out of the country next week, allowing him to escape having to choose between resignation and rebelling against May.
Amber Rudd resigns hours after Guardian publishes deportation targets letter
From The Guardian: Amber Rudd has resigned as home secretary, after repeatedly struggling to account for her role in the unjust treatment of Windrush Generation migrants.
The home secretary was forced to step down after a series of revelations in the Guardian over Windrush culminated in a leak on Friday that appeared to show she was aware of targets for removing illegal migrants from Britain.
The pressure increased late on Sunday afternoon as the Guardian revealed that in a leaked 2017 letter to Theresa May, Amber Rudd had told the prime minister of her intention to increase deportations by 10% – seemingly at odds with her recent denials that she was aware of deportation targets.
Rudd was facing a bruising appearance in the House of Commons on Monday. Downing Street sources said that in preparing for her statement, new information had become available which convinced Rudd she had inadvertently misled parliament – and she had therefore phoned the prime minister on Sunday to tender her resignation.
Damian Green sacked after ‘misleading statements’ on porn claims
From BBC News: Damian Green, one of Theresa May’s closest allies, has been sacked from the cabinet after an inquiry found he had breached the ministerial code.
He was “asked to quit” after he was found to have made “inaccurate and misleading” statements over what he knew about claims pornography was found on his office computer in 2008.
He also apologised for making writer Kate Maltby feel uncomfortable in 2015.
Priti Patel forced to resign over unofficial meetings with Israelis
From The Guardian: Theresa May’s government was rocked on Wednesday by a second cabinet resignation in a week after Priti Patel was forced to step down as international development secretary.
The minister quit after being summoned back from a trip to Uganda and Ethiopia by Downing Street after it emerged she failed to be candid with May about 14 unofficial meetings with Israeli ministers, businesspeople and a senior lobbyist.
Fallon resigned for lunging at female journalist and trying to kiss her on the lips in 2003
From The Observer: The dramatic circumstances of Michael Fallon’s sudden resignation as defence secretary last week can be revealed by the Observer.
The cabinet heavyweight’s shock departure on Wednesday followed a phone call from the journalist, Jane Merrick, who informed Downing Street that he had lunged at her and attempted to kiss her on the lips in 2003 after they had lunched together.
The revelation was the tipping point for No 10, which the Observer understands had been compiling a list of alleged incidents involving Fallon since claims against him were first made. Read more
Tory defence secretary Michael Fallon quits over sleaze
From Metro: Tory Defence secretary Sir Michael Fallon has resigned, saying soldiers would not be allowed to behave in the way he has in the past. The minister was caught up in the sexual harassment scandal engulfing Westminster after it emerged he repeatedly put his hand on a journalist’s knee during a party conference dinner in 2002.