Gary Neville declared that "sanity may return" to Britain after Rishi Sunak and Sajid Javid resigned from Boris Johnson's government, insisting the PM's tenure is almost up.
Javid and Sunak left their positions as Health Secretary and Chancellor respectively on Tuesday evening after Johnson admitted his regret at appointing Chris Pincher, who has been accused of sexual misconduct by multiple men, to a government role.
The PM was aware of an allegation of misconduct against Pincher before appointing him as the deputy chief whip in February. Pincher was forced to resign from that position last week after 'drinking far too much' and 'embarrassing himself' at a private member's club.
It was later alleged that Pincher had groped two men at the club. He initially resigned from the government in November 2017 amid other allegations of sexual misconduct. Pincher has denied previous allegations and is currently suspended by the Tories.
Johnson's handling of the row has been criticised after No.10 initially denied knowledge of the allegations against Pincher. The scandal comes just weeks after Johnson, Sunak and several other top Tories were fined for attending gatherings during lockdown.
Johnson was heavily criticised for initially denying any knowledge of these gatherings for several weeks. He's also come under fire for his government's response to the cost of living crisis and Covid pandemic, as well as various other scandals. Johnson narrowly won a vote of confidence among Tory MPs last month.
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After hearing the news of Sunak's and Javid's resignation, Labour member Neville tweeted: "The day has arrived! Sanity may return."
Neville went on to tell his followers: "Back Boris. Levelling up. Get Brexit done. We’re getting on with the job of delivering for this country. All that cr** we’ve heard, every single day for the last two years, is about to end.
"What we mustn’t forget, is every single one of those ministers, that have sat on that television screen and settee, and bulls****** their way through every single interview for him, and lied through their teeth. And that includes you Rishi Sunak. We won’t forget."
Match of the Day host Gary Lineker was also quick to stick the knife in Johnson's premiership by tweeting: "The party's over." Lineker's comment is a reference to the gatherings Johnson and his colleagues enjoyed at Downing Street during the pandemic.
Johnson's government has remained united throughout his premiership but started to splinter after the Tories lost the Tiverton & Honiton and Wakefield by-elections last month. Party chair Oliver Dowden resigned after those defeats and now Sunak and Javid - two of Johnson's most loyal colleagues - have followed suit.
"We [Conservative party] may not have always been popular, but we have been competent in acting in the national interest," wrote Javid in his resignation letter. "Sadly, in the current circumstances, the public are concluding that we are now neither.
"The vote of confidence last month showed that a large number of our colleagues agree. I regret to say, however, that it is clear to me that this situation will not change under your leadership and you have therefore lost my confidence too."
Labour leader Keir Starmer has urged the cabinet to remove Johnson from office in the national interest, while senior Labour MP Chris Byrant tweeted: "It's [Johnson's premiership] over. Thank God for that. Amen and Alleluia."
In his resignation letter, Sunak wrote: "I publicly believe the public are ready to hear that truth. Our people know that if something is too good to be true then it's not true. They need to know that whilst there is a path to a better future, it is not an easy one. In preparation for our proposed joint speech on the economy next week, it has become clear to me that our approaches are fundamentally too different."
Johnson apologised for appointing Pincher on Tuesday evening. "In hindsight it was the wrong thing to do and I apologise to everyone who has been badly affected by it," he told reporters.
"I just want to make absolutely clear that there's no place in this government for anybody who is predatory or abuses their position of power."
