04 Feb 2022
UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson has lost several key members of staff this week. But who are they, and why does it matter that they've quit?
Exit this way
First to go on Thursday was Munira Mirza the head of policy at No.10 Downing St.
She was then followed on Thursday evening by communications director Jack Doyle, chief of staff Dan Rosenfield, and principal private secretary Martin Reynolds.
You might recognize the name Martin Reynolds. He sent the now-infamous 'bring your own booze' email.
And furthering the prime minister's bad week was Policy Unit member Elena Narozanski, who quit on Friday morning.
Do not pass go
Let's start with the three men who quit on Thursday afternoon.
Dan Rosenfield was chief of staff at Downing St, which arguably places the responsibility for staff behaving badly and breaking lockdown laws at his door. However he was also reportedly very unpopular with Conservative MPs.
The members of the PM's party have a huge influence in difficult times for the government, and it's reported Rosenfield's departure was a form of peace offering to the unhappy lawmakers in Johnson's own party.
Jack Doyle was head of communications from Downing Street, and the Prime Minister's office. His resignation was not a huge surprise in London, as it is understood to have been Doyle's idea to implement the strategy around "lockdown parties" - which is now seen by many in the UK as a "cover-up."
Martin Reynolds is a long-serving civil servant who was principal private secretary to the Prime Minister, whose email inviting staff to a party during lockdown was leaked to the media.
Reynolds held the same close assistant role to Johnson when he was Foreign Minister, and will return to the Foreign Office after leaving Downing Street. His position was widely accepted to be untenable after the "bring your own booze" invite was made public.
While these three all resigned, it's not as clear-cut as Mirza (who I wrote about here).
It is understood that Rosenfield, Reynolds and Doyle were at the top of a list of officials drawn up to take the blame for the 'Partygate scandal.' However, none were fired. A statement said their resignations were accepted by Johnson, and "recruitment for both posts is under way."
Energy Minister Greg Hands said the exodus was a sign that Johnson was "taking charge."
Friday morning's alright for fighting
After a blockbuster day of political news in the UK on Thursday, the flood continued on Friday morning as Elena Narozanski resigned via the ConservativeHome website.
Elena Narozanski is an education policy specialist, and previously advised Michael Gove when he was Education Minister and former PM Theresa May.
As the BBC points out, Narozanski is an amateur boxer.
Friends close, enemies in the pocket
While opposition figures have been brutally upfront with their criticism of the prime minister, like former Labour leader Ed Miliband who described Johnson as a "stain" on UK democracy, Johnson's close allies have widely supported him.
While Finance Minister Rishi Sunak has spoken in support of the leader, his public statements have not been as convincing as some others at Johnson's top table.
On Thursday night at a press conference to explain his policy package to support Brits deal with rising energy costs he drew a clear line differentiating between himself and his boss.
Referring to Johnson's attack on Labour leader Sir Keir Starmer over the non-prosecution of paedophile TV presenter Jimmy Savile in 2013, Sunak said he would not have made the comment.
"Being honest, I wouldn't have said it and I'm glad the PM clarified what he meant," he told the media.
However polite, that nugget has been pounced on by many who either want to see the end of Johnson's premiership, or would like to usher in a Sunak leadership bid.
If the bookies are anything to go by, Johnson will be gone in a month. If Sunak is gearing up for a ride, on Thursday we learned who was taking the fall.
Originally published here: https://newseu.cgtn.com/news/2022-02-04/Who-quit-Downing-Street-and-why-does-it-matter--17nNxXRM0kU/index.html
Comments