Today’s news summary – Paper Talk
Wednesday’s front pages are dominated by the shocking double resignation of two of the PM’s top ministers – Chancellor Rishi Sunak and Health Secretary Sajid Javid. Both men quit within ten minutes of each other, just moments after the PM issued an apology over the Chris Pincher scandal.
Boris Johnson – Is it all over for the PM?
Rishi Sunak and Sajid Javid resign as mass wave of juniors also quit
“On the brink” is how the Times, the Guardian and the Financial Times describe Boris Johnson’s premiership.
The Times claims the resignation of Rishi Sunak and Sajid Javid – that was within minutes of each other – were “apparently co-ordinated” and was a move that dealt the PM a “potentially fatal blow.” The paper says that after their departures, Tory rebels will push for a second confidence vote in the PM before the summer recess if he doesn’t resign.
A “crushing blow to his authority,” is how the Guardian details the resignation of Sunak and Javid. The paper notes that Rishi Sunak highlighted differences of opinion over economic management between him and the PM – increasing speculation that the former chancellor has “not given up on a run at the premiership.”
The Financial Times says there was relief in Downing Street when cabinet members Dominic Raab, Liz Truss and Ben Wallace indicated they were staying. But the paper adds many Tory MPs believe the PM’s time in office is coming to its end.
The Daily Telegraph reports the PM has insisted he will carry on as leader despite “hanging by a thread.” The paper says the PM indicated that tax cuts would be easier to deliver now chancellor Sunak has quit – in what the paper calls a “swipe” at Rishi Sunak. The Telegraph carries denials from Sunak and Javid that their resignations were co-ordinated – but says it can also reveal that both men had already discussed resigning with close aides.
The i and the Daily Mirror say the resignations are the “end game” for the prime minister. The i newspaper describes the PM as “reeling” from the shock resignations and says their attacks on his integrity are to “try to force him out of Downing Street.”
For the Mirror the prime minister is “desperately clinging to power” but it thinks he is doomed. The paper quotes an unnamed Tory MP as saying “even his most blinkered allies know it is all over”.
Boris Johnson is fighting for his political life
The Sun and the Daily Express have the most positive coverage for the prime minister’s side.
The Sun says the prime minister is in the “last chance saloon”, shifting blame to his former colleagues, who the paper claims “knifed” the PM on a “day from hell.”
Whilst the Daily Express’ headline reads: “Boris fights on” – the paper says he dismissed a “failed coup” as a “moment of liberation” that would allow him to unleash sweeping tax cuts. The paper claims he declared the government was now free to pursue a “true-blue Tory agenda, paving the way for victory in the next election.”
The Daily Mail says the PM is fighting for his political life and says the resignation was the “most dramatic night at Westminster since the toppling of Margaret Thatcher”. The paper’s headline asks: “Can even Boris, the greased piglet, wriggle out of this?” as it reports he was locked in Downing Street last night, plotting a route to survival.