Boris Johnson's shock exit reverberates through British ruling party
Some Conservative lawmakers who backed Johnson express disquiet
Third Conservative MP, Nigel Adams, quits
Rishi Sunak now faces three by-elections
Labour, ahead in polls, says it relishes prospect
Adds resignation of Nigel Adams
By Andy Bruce
LONDON, June 10 (Reuters) -Old rifts resurfaced in Britain's ruling Conservative Party on Saturday following former Prime Minister Boris Johnson's abrupt resignation from parliament, while the opposition Labour Party sensed opportunity ahead of a general election next year.
Johnson quit late on Friday in protest against an investigation by lawmakers into his conduct as prime minister during the height of the COVID-19 pandemic, when lockdown-breaking parties were held in Downing Street.
In his resignation statement, Johnson railed against the inquiry that examined whether he misled the House of Commons about the gatherings, saying it had not found "a shred of evidence" against him. He also took aim at current Prime Minister Rishi Sunak.
Sunak's Conservatives, trailing badly in opinion polls, must now fight three by-elections in constituencies vacated on Friday by Johnson and his ally Nadine Dorries, and on Saturday by Nigel Adams, a former minister in the Johnson government.
Johnson's loyalists, some of whom received political honours from him hours before his resignation, praised his record in social media posts. The rest were silent.
"Well done Rishi for starting this nonsense!!" lawmaker Andrea Jenkyns wrote in a Conservative Party WhatsApp group, according to a screenshot shared by a Sky News reporter.
Jenkyns received the honorary title of Dame in Johnson's resignation honours list published on Friday which critics derided as an exercise in cronyism.
His premiership was cut short last year in part by anger in his own party and across Britain over COVID rule-breaking lockdown parties in his Downing Street office and residence.
Henry Hill, deputy editor of the Conservative Home website, said Johnson's exit meant he was no longer a "prince-over-water" in parliament who threatened Sunak's grip on the party.
"It will mean that any trouble made by his allies is much less potent," Hill told BBC radio.
A YouGov poll published on Saturday showed 65% of Britons thought Johnson knowingly misled parliament, compared with 17% who did not.
LABOUR SMELLS BLOOD
The opposition Labour Party, which has a roughly 16-point lead over Sunak's Conservatives in opinion polls, said it relished the prospect of fighting the by-elections in Conservative-held constituencies.
"We will be fighting to win in those constituencies," Labour's deputy leader Angela Rayner told the BBC on Saturday.
"They've created a by-election because both of them (Johnson and Dorries) have thrown their toys out of the pram."
Johnson's decision to resign may be the end of his 22-year political career, where he rose from parliament to become mayor of London and then built a profile that tipped the balance of the 2016 European Union referendum in favour of Brexit, before becoming prime minister in 2019.
He did leave a possible door open to return, saying at the end of his resignation statement that it was "very sad to be leaving parliament - at least for now".
TEXT-Former British PM Boris Johnson quits parliament nL8N3814JI
Decrying 'witch hunt', Boris Johnson resigns from UK parliament nL8N3814IO
Reporting by Andy Bruce; Editing by Mike Harrison, Frances Kerry and Clelia Oziel
면책조항: XM Group 회사는 체결 전용 서비스와 온라인 거래 플랫폼에 대한 접근을 제공하여, 개인이 웹사이트에서 또는 웹사이트를 통해 이용 가능한 콘텐츠를 보거나 사용할 수 있도록 허용합니다. 이에 대해 변경하거나 확장할 의도는 없습니다. 이러한 접근 및 사용에는 다음 사항이 항상 적용됩니다: (i) 이용 약관, (ii) 위험 경고, (iii) 완전 면책조항. 따라서, 이러한 콘텐츠는 일반적인 정보에 불과합니다. 특히, 온라인 거래 플랫폼의 콘텐츠는 금융 시장에서의 거래에 대한 권유나 제안이 아닙니다. 금융 시장에서의 거래는 자본에 상당한 위험을 수반합니다.
온라인 거래 플랫폼에 공개된 모든 자료는 교육/정보 목적으로만 제공되며, 금융, 투자세 또는 거래 조언 및 권고, 거래 가격 기록, 금융 상품 또는 원치 않는 금융 프로모션의 거래 제안 또는 권유를 포함하지 않으며, 포함해서도 안됩니다.
이 웹사이트에 포함된 모든 의견, 뉴스, 리서치, 분석, 가격, 기타 정보 또는 제3자 사이트에 대한 링크와 같이 XM이 준비하는 콘텐츠 뿐만 아니라, 제3자 콘텐츠는 일반 시장 논평으로서 "현재" 기준으로 제공되며, 투자 조언으로 여겨지지 않습니다. 모든 콘텐츠가 투자 리서치로 해석되는 경우, 투자 리서치의 독립성을 촉진하기 위해 고안된 법적 요건에 따라 콘텐츠가 의도되지 않았으며, 준비되지 않았다는 점을 인지하고 동의해야 합니다. 따라서, 관련 법률 및 규정에 따른 마케팅 커뮤니케이션이라고 간주됩니다. 여기에서 접근할 수 있는 앞서 언급한 정보에 대한 비독립 투자 리서치 및 위험 경고 알림을 읽고, 이해하시기 바랍니다.
