Boris Johnson has suggested the extreme heatwave in the UK over the summer may have contributed to the political "turmoil" which led to his exit from No 10. The former prime minister made the comment at an event on the fringe of the Cop27 summit in Sharm el-Sheikh.
He said: “Temperatures in London this July reached 40 degrees, which is unprecedented and almost unbearable by United Kingdom standards – perhaps even contributing to unexpected political turmoil that we saw in Westminster at that time.”
Like the whole of the UK, Johnson and the rest of the Conservative Party were certainly feeling the heat throughout July, as the Prime Minister found himself embroiled in another scandal over his conduct just as the aftermath of ‘Partygate’ was dying down. On July 5, health secretary Sajid Javid and then-chancellor Rishi Sunak announced they were stepping down from government, following Johnson’s admission that appointing Tory MP Chris Pincher as Deputy Chief Whip following allegations of sexual harassment was a mistake.
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This sparked a wave of resignations as many ministers publicly questioned Johnson’s honesty and integrity, as it was reported Johnson was aware of the harrassment allegations before Pincher was appointed. Dozens of minsters and parliamentary secretaries stepped down from their roles in government, leading to Johnson’s own resignation just two days later after insisting he would continue in the job.
Johnson's resignation triggered a leadership contest as the party sought a new leader, and temperatures were rising inside and outside government. The UK experienced its hottest day on record on July 19, when temperatures exceeded 40C for the first time on record – all in the middle of the Tory leadership contest.
The following day, Johnson took his final Prime Minister’s Questions and then-trade minister Penny Mordaunt was eliminated from the contest, leaving Sunak and foreign secretary Liz Truss to go head-to-head over the coming weeks. The contest was ultimately won by now-former Prime Minister Truss, who lasted just 45 days in the job before being replaced by Sunak in October.
World leaders are meeting in Egypt this week for Cop27 amid geopolitical tensions and pressure over who will pay for the damage caused by global warming. Prime Minister Sunak said the world must “deliver on the legacy” of last year’s Cop26 summit in Glasgow, with Downing Street pledging more than £200m in UK funding to protect forests and invest in green technologies.
The past eight years are on track to be the hottest on record, with sea level rise accelerating, the melting of Europe’s Alpine glaciers shattering records, and devastating floods, drought and heatwaves hitting in 2022.
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