Curtains for Big Dog?

Boris Johnson is fighting for his political life after two of the Cabinet’s biggest beasts – Rishi Sunak and Sajid Javid – resigned within minutes of each other on Tuesday evening.

The first to deliver his bombshell was the health secretary, who in his resignation letter to Johnson published at 6.02pm was openly critical of his integrity, competence and ability to act in the national interest.

This is what Javid wrote: “It is with enormous regret that I must tell you that I can no longer, in good conscience, continue serving in this Government… I am instinctively a team player but the British people also rightly expect integrity from their Government.”

Javid’s letter was followed nine minutes later at 6.11pm with another explosive resignation letter from the Chancellor who told the PM that the government “cannot go on like this.” 

Nor did Sunak, who has been clearly bottling up his anger towards the PM for months now, mince his words of criticism. He wrote: “The public rightly expect Government to be conducted properly, competently and seriously.”

While their dramatic resignations may appear to be the most extraordinary coincidence, both Javid and Sunak claim that their resignations were serendipity rather than judiciously timed to deliver a double body-blow to the PM. 

Clearly the final straw for both men – who hold two of the five great offices of state – was the maelstrom of lies, half-truths, pathetic attempts by ministers to patch up those lies and general chaos emanating from No 10 over the sacking of Chris Pincher as deputy whip.

But it’s worth noting that their resignations took place shortly after the PM had made another of his grovelling apologies over his appointment of Pincher, and then the handling – or should one say cover-up – of who knew what and when about past sexual allegations made against the deputy whip. Indeed, No 10 now says that Johnson knew about claims against Pincher. 

Who knows the truth of whether Javid and Sunak orchestrated the timing of their letters, but you have to hand it to them: they have read the room right, and can now lead a more formal and principled opposition of anti-Johnson rebels within the government from the green benches. 

Westminster is seething tonight with rumours that more senior ministers and PPSs are contemplating their future in yet another game of snakes and ladders. Bim Afolami has already jumped ship, resigning as Tory party vice-chair live on TV on Tuesday evening. 

So far the deputy PM, Dominic Raab, Foreign Secretary Liz Truss, Home Secretary Priti Patel and Defence Secretary Ben Wallace – the latest favourite among Tory grassroots members to take over from Johnson – have declared they will not be resigning. 

That Wallace has said he is not resigning is interesting, suggesting he is either too cowardly to leave at this point or reckons he can hedge his bets by staying on. But in the event of a leadership challenge, he could still challenge. 

Ultra-Johnson loyalist, Jacob Rees-Mogg, has also pledged his loyalty but that might do more harm than good. In a tweet, the Brexit opportunities minister said: “The PM won a mandate from the British people and that is more powerful than cabinet ministers resigning.” Rees-Mogg should know better: at the heart of British government is the notion of collective Cabinet responsibility and once that confidence in the PM goes, he or she goes too. Look what happened to Lady Thatcher. 

So far there has been silence from Michael Gove, Nadhim Zahawi – another potential contender for leader – and Therese Coffey who are described as being on a “watch” list.  

Johnson is tonight locked in Downing Street with another ultra-loyalist, Nadine Dorries, the digital and culture secretary and chief whip, Chris Heaton-Harris, working out what to do next to stave off further mutiny and avoid further resignations. 

Knowing Johnson and his superficial approach to most of life’s big problems, he will try to make light of their departures. In fact, he has already tried to do just that. After meeting Tory MPs to calm them down about the Pincher affair, he said that Sunak’s resignation may now mean he can go ahead with tax cuts. 

While that’s typical Johnson cheek, it actually undermines him as suggests he didn’t have the authority to overrule Sunak and push for tax cuts. Especially when half the Cabinet have actually been in favour of cutting taxes.

Can Big Dog survive this latest rout? Technically, the PM knows that under the existing 1922 rules there cannot be another leadership challenge in the next year. But those rules can be changed if the new executive – to be chosen next week – chooses to do so. Or there could be a no-confidence vote in the Commons, brought either by rebel Tories or the opposition. 

A more likely scenario is that the PM will be visited by enough men and women in white coats and told his time is up (a re-run of Thatcher’s defenestration) and that, if he doesn’t go, the entire Cabinet resigns. But they might need the latest tank to prize him out of No 10.