The brother of British Prime Minister Boris Johnson, Jo Johnson, announced Thursday his resignation from the Conservative government, where he held a position of Secretary of State, claiming to place the "national interest" ahead of "family loyalty." "In recent weeks, I've been torn between family loyalty and national interest - it's an insoluble tension and it's time for others to take on my roles as a member of Parliament and as a member of the government," tweeted Jo Johnson, in favor of a second referendum on Brexit, while his brother wants an exit from the European Union as soon as possible.
Opposed to a "no deal", unlike his brother
Jo Johnson, 47, had resigned in November 2018 from Theresa May's government, opposed to the withdrawal agreement she had negotiated with the European Union. He voted for EU membership in the referendum in June 2016 and at the time of his first resignation, he deplored "the choice left to the British people" between an agreement that would "economically weaken" the country and an exit without agreement. , which would inflict "untold damage" in the United Kingdom.
But his older brother Boris, 55, is considering this "no deal", determined to get his country out of the European Union by October 31, agreement or not with the EU. He also refuses to ask for a further postponement of Brexit, as MPs want to impose if no Brexit agreement is found by October 19, just after the next European Council. MEPs voted Wednesday night a bill providing for this request for additional time, which is discussed Thursday in the House of Lords.
A divided family
A former Financial Times journalist, Jo Johnson, after working at Deutsche Bank Investment Bank, was Secretary of State for Universities, Science, and Research. He is not the only member of the family to have differing opinions from those of his brother: their sister Rachel had campaigned in the European elections for the anti-Brexit Change UK party. She had not been elected. As for their father Stanley, he was European Conservative MP from 1979 to 1984 and voted against Brexit in the 2016 referendum.