“History will not judge you kindly”: British MP’s resignation letter to Rishi Sunak

London:

A key ally of former British Prime Minister Boris Johnson formally resigned on Saturday, sharply attacking his successor in his resignation letter.

Former Culture Minister Nadine Dorries announced her intention to step down 11 weeks ago but remained a member of parliament while she investigated why she had not been granted a seat in the upper house of parliament.

In his resignation letter, Dorries accused Prime Minister Rishi Sunak of abandoning “the fundamental principles of conservatism” and said “history will not look kindly upon them.”

Surprisingly, Dorries was not granted a seat in the upper house of parliament, the House of Lords, on Johnson’s resignation honours list. He has rewarded fellow Brexit stalwarts and even those implicated in the “Partygate” scandal that contributed to his downfall last year.

The omission prompted accusations from the Johnson camp of meddling from Sunak and Downing Street.

In her letter, which she posted on social media, Dorries accused Sunak of leading attacks against her, resulting in “the police having to visit my home and contact me on several occasions due to threats to my person.”

“Clearly orchestrated and almost daily personal attacks demonstrate the woefully low level to which your government has descended,” he wrote.

It also attacked his record in government.

“Since he took office a year ago, the country has been ruled by a zombie parliament where nothing significant has happened,” he wrote.

“You have no mandate from the people and the government is adrift.”

Resignation honors lists, in which key political allies of outgoing prime ministers are rewarded, are normally approved by their successor.

political revenge

Sunak’s spokesman told reporters earlier it was “absolutely untrue” that the prime minister or officials removed names from Johnson’s list before it was sent to a House of Lords investigative committee.

The June dispute over honors led to the resignation as MPs of both Nigel Adams, who was also delisted, and Johnson himself.

At the same time, Dorries announced his intention to resign.

Political observers have interpreted the resignations as Johnson’s revenge against Sunak for forcing him out of office last July after “Partygate” and a series of other scandals.

Johnson resigned as an MP alleging cheating by his political opponents in a cross-party inquiry into whether he lied to parliament about parties breaking the Covid lockdown on Downing Street.

The resignations meant Sunak’s Conservatives had to face by-elections at a time when they trailed the main opposition Labor party in the polls and ahead of next year’s general election.

The Conservatives lost Adams’s seat but retained Johnson’s constituency, helped by Labor mayor Sadiq Khan’s controversial expansion of a vehicle pollution tax to the outskirts of London.

The government now faces the prospect of another by-election, possibly within weeks, although Dorries’s 24,000-vote majority in his constituency could prove more difficult for the opposition Labor party to overturn than Adams’ 20,000-vote majority.

(This story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is automatically generated from a syndicated feed.)