When Boris Johnson appeared on the "Prime Minister's Questions" on Wednesday, the most uncomfortable questions came from his own ranks.

"Are there any circumstances in which you would resign?" asked Tory MP Tim Laughton to laughter from around the House.

Johnson remained calm and said something about the severe economic crisis and the biggest war in Europe for 80 years.

This is "a moment when the government is expected to move forward with its work".

Jochen Buchsteiner

Political correspondent in London.

  • Follow I follow

The Prime Minister stands.

That was the message Johnson wanted to get across in the House of Commons this Wednesday.

When opposition leader Keir Starmer confronted him about the recent resignations and bemoaned Johnson's lack of "integrity," the prime minister hit back as if he were campaigning.

He said he would not be lectured on integrity by someone who wanted to bring Jeremy Corbyn to Downing Street and also voted "48 times against the will of the people" - meaning Starmer's votes against Brexit.

But the displeasure of the deputies could not be shaken off that easily.

Declarations of resignation have been trickling in since morning, and by the afternoon they have become a small torrent.

Cabinet members were not among them, but numerous state secretaries and political advisers.

When Sajid Javid stood up in the House of Commons and explained why he had tendered his resignation as Health Secretary the previous day, Johnson looked like a beaten dog.

Javid accused him of putting his ministers in an untenable position, not least because he gave them lines of defense in the morning that would no longer be in place by the afternoon.

For a long time he upheld loyalty, but finally realized that something was "fundamentally wrong".

"Enough is enough," he said.

Successors were quickly found

The reasons for the resignation of Javid and Chancellor of the Exchequer Rishi Sunak outline the totality of the dislike that Johnson is now facing from broad circles in the party.

While Javid explained his departure mainly because of the prime minister's lack of integrity and his decision as a question of conscience, Sunak, the former chancellor of the exchequer, emphasized a lack of government competence and substantive controversies.

If something is too good to be true, Britons know it isn't good, Sunak said.

He hit Johnson at a sensitive point.

He promises a lot – and a lot of contradictions at the same time.

At its core, Sunak took issue with Johnson's idea of ​​cutting taxes just after Social Security has just been raised, while increasing government spending (to help with the "Cost of Living Crisis").

In the Johnson camp, it is argued that special times, i.e. a pandemic and war in Europe, called for special measures.

But many in the party see their hallmarks dwindling: fiscal discipline and a commitment to a small state.

In the case of Sunak, personal reasons may also have played into the decision.

Recently, the questionable tax return of his wife, the billionaire heiress to an Indian entrepreneur, was uncovered - and it is suspected in Sunak's environment that this was pierced by the Johnson camp in order to not let Sunak's political career take off too much.

In the comments of the Tory-friendly press, it was noticeable that the few who still give the prime minister a political chance of survival make it dependent on a change of course in terms of content.

For Johnson, "the way forward" is a return to "true Tory principles," wrote the Daily Mail, citing low taxes, free markets and the "full development of Brexit."

Only the "Daily Express" unreservedly supported the Prime Minister: "His will to win is his best weapon and he will enjoy fighting back the declaration of war by those who consider him finished."