British Prime Minister Boris Johnson promised on Wednesday to “go ahead” with his government despite calls to resign after a wave of resignations in the Executive for a series of scandals.
“The task of a prime minister in difficult circumstances, when a colossal mandate has been received, is to carry on, and that is what I am going to do”said the Conservative premier before Parliament.
Johnson’s stay in power was in jeopardy after Finance Minister Rishi Sunak and Health Minister Sajid Javid resigned on Tuesday over their handling of ethics scandals, including that of an official accused of sexual misconduct.
Johnson quickly replaced the two ministers, but then 14 secretaries of state, all of them also MPs, resigned in a sign of declining support for the prime minister within his Conservative Party.
Johnson’s critics within the party want to change the rules of parliamentary procedure to call for a vote on his continuation in office, in order to remove him.
The prime minister already survived one such vote, called a motion of censure, last month, but more than 40% of MPs voted against him.
