Local Scottish Conservative MSP Liz Smith said yesterday she was “relieved” to hear Prime Minister Boris Johnson had finally bowed to pressure and agreed to resign after dozens of his colleagues quit roles in his government.
Opposition politicians such as Perth and North Perthshire MP Pete Wishart also welcomed the announcement yesterday amid non-stop calls for Johnson to step down and turmoil in Downing Street over who will end up running the country when he leaves office.
Johnson delivered a speech outside Number 10 yesterday lunchtime flanked by Conservative party colleagues saying he had agreed with Sir Graham Brady, chairman of the 1922 Committee of backbench MPs, that the process of choosing a new leader should begin.
“I’m immensely proud of the achievements of this government, from getting Brexit done to settling our relations with the continent for over half a century, reclaiming the power for this country to make its own laws in parliament, getting us all through the pandemic, delivering the fastest vaccine rollout in Europe, the fastest exit from lockdown and, in the last few months, leading the west in standing up to Putin’s aggression in Ukraine,” he said.
His statement came after a turbulent two days for the former mayor of London during which 59 ministers resigned their positions in his government following a scandal over his handling of complaints about the behaviour of his former deputy chief whip, Chris Pincher.
The steady flow of resignations were triggered by former chancellor Rishi Sunak and former health secretary Sajid Javid quitting their roles after Johnson was forced to make a public apology for keeping Pincher in government when allegations of sexual misconduct had been made against him.
Liz Smith MSP, who previously said Johnson should have resigned over the damaging Partygate scandal, told the PA yesterday: “I am relieved to hear that the Prime Minister has finally bowed to the pressure to resign.
“His position has been untenable for some months now which has done great damage to both the party and the country and l regret that it has taken this long for him to accept that situation.
“When a Prime Minister loses the trust of both his colleagues and the country it is time to go.”
Her Mid Scotland and Fife party colleague Alexander Stewart echoed that final remark yesterday, saying: “This decision was inevitable, as so many of the party’s MPs had lost confidence in the Prime Minister during the past weeks and months.
“There will however now be a due process to follow in the run up to the Autumn.”
SNP MP Pete Wishart remarked yesterday: “The utter chaos that has defined Boris Johnson’s leadership has finally reached a climax.
“In just three years, he has managed to decimate our international reputation, our economy and our democracy. And the last few days of scrambling to hold on to power has secured his legacy as the most damaging Prime Minister in British history.
“But the next Conservative Prime Minister will be the fourth in six years, proving that the problem isn’t just the party leader, but the fundamentally broken party itself.
“So while I welcome his resignation, Scotland now faces more of the same; a new Prime Minister who we did not vote for, doing things to our country that we do not want.”
Ochil and South Perthshire SNP MP John Nicolson agreed with Mr Wishart and went one further yesterday claiming the Conservative Party’s behaviour in Westminster bolstered his party’s case for a new vote on independence.
“Boris Johnson was always unfit for office. His legacy will be Brexit - a disastrous mistake which is causing such damage to the Scottish economy," he said.
“It is to the Scottish Tories’ eternal shame that they have propped up the worst Prime Minister in living memory. They never fight Scotland’s corner and their defence of Boris Johnson has been characteristically weak.
“Scotland needs to have its say on what future we are to have post-Johnson. We need a referendum on independence which will allow us to determine our own future - a future which, I believe, will take us back into the EU with all the benefits that will bring.”
Perthshire North SNP MSP and Deputy First Minister for Scotland John Swinney remarked: “This resignation has been a long time coming and it is a damning reflection on the Tories that it took them so long to finally turn on Boris Johnson.
“As Prime Minister, he has stripped us of our rights, debased basic standards of public decency and broken the law.
“Indeed, the worst characteristics of Boris Johnson were already well-documented prior to his leadership bid, and yet the majority of the party eagerly backed him. This is something that Tory MPs should seriously reflect upon.
“Scotland will now find itself in the familiar position of having another Prime Minister that we did not vote for imposed upon us. This democratic deficit did not begin and will not end with Boris Johnson.
“It is clear that the Westminster system is fundamentally broken and that Scotland can do so much better.
“By choosing independence, we can chart a better path forward and ensure that Scotland takes its place as an outward-looking, global nation.”
Another Mid Scotland and Fife MSP, Scottish Labour’s Alex Rowley, added: “It is clear that Boris Johnson cannot stay in power any longer so whilst he has said he is going to go I think it would be best for the country if he goes now and in truth what the country needs is a general election.
“We need a change of direction and a change of values to begin to repair the damage this Tory government has inflicted on the nation and on the UK reputation across the globe.”
