BORIS Johnson has been accused of “sacrificing” his brother after Jo Johnson, the UK Universities Minister, dramatically quit this morning, saying he had been "torn between family loyalty and the national interest".
The bombshell decision by Mr Johnson, who is not only leaving Government but also quitting politics altogether, adds to the fractious atmosphere gripping Westminster and the tussle over Brexit between the Conservative Government and the UK Parliament.
It will also throw up more question-marks about the Prime Minister’s approach to government, which his critics have denounced as “Trumpian”.
His brother’s shock announcement also came just hours before the Conservative leader was due to give a keynote speech in Yorkshire, marking what Downing St regards as the first day of the election campaign.
READ MORE: Nicola Sturgeon quizzed on Brexit, sectarian marches and Scotrail in heated FMQs
In his announcement on social media, Mr Johnson, who was elected MP for Orpington in May 2010, said there had been an "unresolvable tension". In his role, he had been able to attend Cabinet meetings alongside his older brother.
He tweeted: “It's been an honour to represent Orpington for 9 years & to serve as a minister under three PMs. In recent weeks I've been torn between family loyalty and the national interest - it's an unresolvable tension & time for others to take on my roles as MP & Minister. #overandout."
It’s been an honour to represent Orpington for 9 years & to serve as a minister under three PMs. In recent weeks I’ve been torn between family loyalty and the national interest - it’s an unresolvable tension & time for others to take on my roles as MP & Minister. #overandout
— Jo Johnson (@JoJohnsonUK) September 5, 2019
Mr Johnson is pro-European and has previously called for a second referendum, a position that puts him at odds with the PM, who has vowed to leave the EU on October 31 with or without a Brexit deal.
Nick Boles, the former Conservative minister, who resigned from the party to sit as an independent, said: “Johnson is willing to sacrifice anyone and anything on the altar of his ego and ambition. His lust for power consumes everyone who stands in his way.”
Labour’s Angela Rayner noted: "Boris Johnson poses such a threat that even his own brother doesn’t trust him."
Naomi Smith, Chief Executive of the pro-EU Best for Britain campaign said: "Boris Johnson has already managed to lose his parliamentary majority, his first three votes, his first by-election and now his own brother.
"This is the evidence that Johnson and Cummings have no great plan, only a misguided, blind belief in their own alleged abilities. It is time for this madness to stop," she added.
READ MORE: Alison Rowat: A premiership remarkable for all the wrong reasons
Fellow Independent Sam Gyimah, who had the Tory whip removed this week, tweeted: "Honest Jo Johnson is a top talent & will be a big loss to politics. It was an immense privilege to (follow on from) him as Universities & Science Minister.
"Huge admiration for him in resolving an impossible and painful 'conflict of loyalty' in the national interest," added the Surrey MP.
A No 10 spokesman: “The PM would like to thank Jo Johnson for his service. He has been a brilliant, talented minister & a fantastic MP. The PM, as both a politician & brother, understands this will not have been an easy matter for Jo.”
In 2013, in the wake of Ed Miliband successfully challenging his brother David for the Labour leadership, Boris Johnson said: "We don't do things that way, that's a very left-wing thing. Only a socialist could regard familial ties as being so trivial as to shaft his brother."
He added: “Only lefties can think like that...They see people as discrete agents devoid of ties to society or to each other, and that's how Stalin could murder 20 million people."
One Tory MP quipped: “Jo Johnson has resigned to spend less time with his family.”
Why are you making commenting on The Herald only available to subscribers?
It should have been a safe space for informed debate, somewhere for readers to discuss issues around the biggest stories of the day, but all too often the below the line comments on most websites have become bogged down by off-topic discussions and abuse.
heraldscotland.com is tackling this problem by allowing only subscribers to comment.
We are doing this to improve the experience for our loyal readers and we believe it will reduce the ability of trolls and troublemakers, who occasionally find their way onto our site, to abuse our journalists and readers. We also hope it will help the comments section fulfil its promise as a part of Scotland's conversation with itself.
We are lucky at The Herald. We are read by an informed, educated readership who can add their knowledge and insights to our stories.
That is invaluable.
We are making the subscriber-only change to support our valued readers, who tell us they don't want the site cluttered up with irrelevant comments, untruths and abuse.
In the past, the journalist’s job was to collect and distribute information to the audience. Technology means that readers can shape a discussion. We look forward to hearing from you on heraldscotland.com
Comments & Moderation
Readers’ comments: You are personally liable for the content of any comments you upload to this website, so please act responsibly. We do not pre-moderate or monitor readers’ comments appearing on our websites, but we do post-moderate in response to complaints we receive or otherwise when a potential problem comes to our attention. You can make a complaint by using the ‘report this post’ link . We may then apply our discretion under the user terms to amend or delete comments.
Post moderation is undertaken full-time 9am-6pm on weekdays, and on a part-time basis outwith those hours.
Read the rules hereLast Updated:
Report this comment Cancel