Britain’s post-Brexit settlement with the European Union will share the spotlight with former Prime Minister Boris Johnson on Wednesday during a day of parliamentary danger for current UK leader Rishi Sunak.
(Bloomberg) — Britain’s post-Brexit settlement with the European Union will share the spotlight with former Prime Minister Boris Johnson on Wednesday during a day of parliamentary danger for current UK leader Rishi Sunak.
In the House of Commons, MPs will vote on the Stormont Brake, a key feature of Sunak’s new post-Brexit deal with the EU over trade with Northern Ireland. If Sunak wins the vote, which he is expected to do, he’ll move a step closer to repairing ties with the EU, the UK’s biggest trading partner.
Meanwhile, Johnson — the man who became prime minister thanks to Brexit — will seek to save his reputation by giving evidence to a committee investigating whether he deliberately lied to lawmakers over “Partygate,” a series of lockdown-busting gatherings held in Downing Street during the pandemic.
Johnson could be temporarily suspended from Parliament and face a recall election if the committee finds against him. That would be a significant blow to any chances he may have of a political comeback, and a boost to Sunak, the current occupant of No. 10.
‘Practically Useless’
Sunak has sought to fix UK-EU relations since entering office in October, as well as portray his administration as honest and competent after a series of scandals under Johnson and an economic collapse during the short-lived Liz Truss premiership.
The coincidence of the Brexit vote and Johnson’s committee hearing falling on the same days renew the focus on two key unresolved issues still hanging over Sunak. Both carry risks for the current prime minister.
On Brexit, Sunak is hoping to win the vote with limited blowback from the strongly pro-Brexit faction of Conservative MPs known as the European Research Group. They’ve already indicated they are dissatisfied with his new deal, the so-called Windsor Framework, which aims to address issues in Northern Ireland created by post-Brexit arrangements.
On Tuesday the ERG criticized key parts of the deal, but reserved judgment on whether members would rebel against the government in Wednesday’s vote. Scrutiny by the group’s lawyers indicated that EU law will remain supreme in Northern Ireland, new trading arrangements won’t work as billed, and a proposed veto mechanism over new EU laws was “practically useless,” the group said.
Highlighting the tensions within the governing Tory party, Johnson plans to take a break from the hearing in order to vote against his successor’s settlement with the EU.
“The proposed arrangements would mean either that Northern Ireland remained captured by the EU legal order — and was increasingly divergent from the rest of the U.K — or they would mean that the whole of the UK was unable properly to diverge and take advantage of Brexit,” Johnson said in a statement. “That is not acceptable. I will be voting against the proposed arrangements today.”
Relying on votes from the opposition Labour Party to win on Wednesday would be a symbolic blow for Sunak, though there are currently few signs of any significant Conservative rebellion.
The deal has already been rejected by Northern Ireland’s Democratic Unionist Party, who say it doesn’t go far enough to solve their concerns and isn’t sufficient to encourage them to re-join the region’s devolved government.
Future at Stake
Johnson’s testimony promises to rehash stories of alcohol-fueled parties in 10 Downing Street during the coronavirus pandemic and turn the focus back onto actions of the Conservative government — of which Sunak was a senior member. Sunak himself was fined for attending one of the gatherings.
If he is found in contempt of Parliament by the committee, which won’t reach a verdict Wednesday, Johnson could face a recall election in his Uxbridge constituency. That would test Sunak’s party, which still faces a double-digit polling deficit versus Labour, though the gap may be narrowing.
On the other hand, if the committee clears Johnson it will renew talk of a potential comeback. The former leader still enjoys significant support on the Conservative backbenches, and is deemed by some as the only leader who could win another general election for the Tories.
On Tuesday Johnson denied the allegation that he deliberately misled Parliament, publishing evidence in his defense and saying he’d acted in “good faith.” He is due to appear before the parliamentary committee from 2 p.m. London time.
“I accept that the House of Commons was misled by my statements,” Johnson said. “But when the statements were made, they were made in good faith.”
(Updates with Johnson statement starting in ninth paragraph)
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