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Hello,
Today’s edition focuses on the fast developing story of Boris Johnson’s premiership, as the beleaguered PM is set to depart. Moves are being made to address what some see as Liverpool’s own constitutional crises.
Time to go
For those eagerly anticipating the opening of Merseyside’s Shakespeare North Playhouse, they need look no further than Westminster for a fix of high drama. The Bard himself would have been proud of the narrative currently unravelling behind the door of Number 10, with the ears of the nation pressed up against - listening out for the muffled final orders of the Prime Minister.
Little more than 24 hours ago it appeared as though Boris Johnson had bought himself time. When Rishi Sunak and Sajid Javid jumped ship, the large majority of the cabinet stayed in place. Highly rated in Conservative circles, Nadhim Zahawi was promoted into the vacant chancellor position while the opening at the Department of Health was also filled in a matter of hours. But that was about as steady as things got. A dressing down at Prime Minister's Questions, a searing statement delivered by Sajid Javid and a grilling by the liaison Committee and the Prime Minister found himself in the hottest waters yet. There he was informed that the chancellor he had appointed a matter of hours ago was part of a group of ministers calling for him to go. The PM has remained defiant, but it appears as though he has finally run out of road and is set to resign.
Boris Johnson may have delivered a resounding majority in the 2019 election, but his tenure has now broken records for all of the wrong reasons. Yesterday was the highest number of resignations a PM has ever suffered in a single day. This morning Brandon Lewis was the latest to go, with Chancellor Zahawi publicly calling for the PM to go. Within a matter of minutes the contents of this newsletter could feel as dated as rays of positivity the PM emitted back in December 2019. Every hour seems to deliver a tectonic shift on the political landscape, with Johnson set to resign today. It’s being reported that he will remain PM while a leadership contest is held. The ECHO has all the latest on this developing story.
LIVE UPDATES: Boris Johnson to stand down as Prime Minister today
'A wretched and shameless ending'
Boris Johnson enjoyed little to no support on Merseyside, and few in the region will be surprised by the callousness of his behaviour in recent days. The people of Liverpool have always had Mr Johnson’s number and have been able to see through his bluster and charms. This was evident even when offering an apology after publishing an editorial in the Spectator which accused Liverpudlians of wallowing in their “victim status”.
Writing his own take on the PM’s downfall, which leads today’s front page of the paper, the ECHO’s Liam Thorp said that Mr Johnson is “a man without morals, without integrity and as we are seeing in painful technicolour right now, without shame”.
He added: "It's important to remember that this person isn't like most of us, he isn't wired the same way as you or me. This is a man who genuinely believes he was put on this earth to rule over others, who believes this was his destiny. In reality that destiny was always going to end in the absurd chaos we are seeing right now."
In Liam’s view, the PMs time is now up, but what comes next should also be a point of concern. He said: Whether it's the delegation of until-recently sycophantic cabinet ministers - currently trying to prise this spoilt child from his toys in Number 10 - that manage to end this nightmare, or the grey suits of the 1922 Committee who bullishly 'backed Boris' as the lord and saviour in the past, it doesn't really matter anymore, he is doomed, done for and soon to be disposed of and that's the most important thing."
While many of us will not be relishing what - and more importantly who - comes next, the immediate priority was always to remove this toxic presence from Downing Street and we can finally say that time has come. Good riddance.”
The runners and riders
A leadership contest will now be triggered as Boris Johnson, as expected, resigns as Prime Minister. Therefore speculation about who will replace him is rife.
Mr Johnson will remain as Prime Minister until a successor is in place, expected to be by the time of the Conservative Party conference in October. A No 10 source said Mr Johnson spoke to Sir Graham Brady, chairman of the Conservative 1922 Committee, to inform him of his decision.
“The Prime Minister has spoken to Graham Brady and agreed to stand down in time for a new leader to be in place by the conference in October,” a No 10 source said. Mr Johnson will make a statement to the country later today confirming the decision.
Mr Javid and Mr Sunak are among the bookies' favourites to replace Mr Johnson, though Penny Mordaunt is the favourite with Paddy Power. Defence Secretary Ben Wallace also has short odds, while Foreign Secretary Liz Truss is said to be among the runners and riders.
READ MORE: Who could replace Boris Johnson as Prime Minister? Latest odds for leadership
In focus
The view
"We can start to think of a world in which this immoral narcissist is no longer our Prime Minister. It feels good to finally say that out loud"
| ECHO Political editor Liam Thorp |
Push for city referendum
As a constitutional crisis appeared to be unfolding in Westminster, Liverpool may still have to deal with a version of its own. Just over a week ago the results of the four month long mayoral consultation were announced to very little fanfare. A sense of frustration has emerged in a number of quarters over what is now being viewed as a pointless exercise - one that originally had the intention of saving the cash strapped city some money. This is because the ruling Labour group are expected to still push ahead and argue for the case of the leader and cabinet model, dispute being the least popular of the three options - although the group claim the low turn out means the results are not representative.
The consultation was never a legally binding vote, and was billed as a guidance rather than a definitive direction the council should take. But as reported earlier this week, two former mayoral candidates are trying to trigger a referendum so that the people of the city can have a proper say on the matter. If a petition can gain 15,000 signatures, then a referendum needs to be held.
Yesterday Liam Fogarty and Stephen Yip announced Reset Liverpool, their own non-party group that will campaign to ensure the referendum is delivered. Writing on their website, the pair set out their stall by saying: “First and foremost we want to ensure that you have a real say in how Liverpool is run by demanding a referendum on whether we keep the Mayoral system or switch to an alternative.
“But whichever system you choose, we have to make sure that it's transparent and accountable, and no system can be truly accountable unless it has a clear democratic mandate. When other cities held referendums to decide whether they wanted an elected Mayor, we were denied that choice. Now is the time to demand it.”
As it stands, Liverpool’s future model of governance will be debated at full council on 20 July. There Labour will make the case of the leader and cabinet, while the opposition Lib Dem group will be pushing to see the committee system put in place. The new model of governance will provide the backdrop as the city heads towards all out elections next spring where every council seat in the city will be up for grabs. By then, a new ward boundary map will also have been put in place.
Live updates
Stay across all the latest political development via the Liverpool ECHO website today. You can follow our live blog on the PM's expected resignation via the link below.
LIVE UPDATES: Boris Johnson to stand down as Prime Minister today
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