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BORIS JOHNSON HAS announced his resignation as UK Prime Minister.
It follows a slew of resignations over the last 48 hours, which began with the resignation of Chancellor Rishi Sunak and Health Secretary Sajid Javid on Tuesday and ended with calls from senior Cabinet figures calling for Johnson to step down.
This included new Chancellor Nadhim Zahawi, who privately called for Johnson to resign before making a public statement earlier this morning.
Over 50 members of Government resigned after Johnson was forced to apologise over his handling of a row involving the former deputy chief whip Chris Pincher, after it emerged Johnson had forgotten about being told of previous allegations of Pincher’s “inappropriate” conduct.
In a public statement this lunchtime, Johnson said that there should be a new leader of the Conservative Party and that he will remain in post until a new leader is selected.
“It’s clearly now the will of the parliamentary Conservative Party, that there should be a new leader of that party and therefore a new prime minister,” said Johnson.
“I’ve agreed with Sir Graham Brady, the chairman of our backbench MPs, that the process of choosing that new leader should begin now and the timetable will be announced next week.
“And I’ve today appointed a Cabinet to serve, as I will, until a new leader is in place.”
Johnson said that he attempted to persuade his Cabinet ministers to back him, saying it would be “eccentric” to change the Prime Minister but that he was not successful.
“In politics, no one is remotely indispensable,” he added.
He said that there would be many people who would be both relieved and disappointed that he was resigning.
“I want you to know how sad I am to be giving up the best job in the world but them’s the breaks,” said Johnson.
Immediate reaction to Johnson’s resignation came from Foreign Secretary Liz Truss, who tweeted that he made the right decision by stepping down.
“We need calmness and unity now and to keep governing while a new leader is found,” Truss said.
Taoiseach Micheál Martin said that he had worked closely with Johnson, the relationship between Ireland and the UK had become “strained” in recent months.
“Our two Governments working in close partnership is a key underpinning for peace and prosperity on these islands. While Prime Minister Johnson and I engaged actively together, we didn’t always agree, and the relationship between our Governments has been strained and challenged in recent times,” Martin said.
He called for both Governments to return to closer working relationship, saying that there was an opportunity to do so with the election of a new Prime Minister.
“Our joint responsibilities concerning stewardship of the Good Friday Agreement, as well as nurturing broader bilateral relations between us, require us to work together in a spirit of respect, trust and partnership.
“That is more important than ever today and I would once again urge a pulling back from unilateral action, whether that be on dealing with the legacy of the past, human rights, or the Northern Ireland Protocol.
“We have now an opportunity to return to the true spirit of partnership and mutual respect that is needed to underpin the gains of the Good Friday Agreement,” Martin said.
US President Joe Biden has also released a statement, saying that the relationship between the UK and US will remain strong.
“The United Kingdom and the United States are the closest of friends and allies, and the special relationship between our people remains strong and enduring,” Biden said.
“I look forward to continuing our close cooperation with the Government of the United Kingdom, as well as our allies and partners around the world, on a range of important priorities.
“This includes maintaining a strong and united approach to supporting the people of Ukraine as they defend themselves against Putin’s brutal war on their democracy, and holding Russia accountable for its actions.”
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I’m sure the staff are “extremely disappointed” that they’ve had to go on strike at Christmas too. So before anyone starts union-bashing, I know from experience that no one enjoys being on strike without pay at any time of the year but it’s often a last resort. Hopefully it’s resolved swiftly.
@Pascal Coleman: Good luck to the staff. Don’t cross the picket people!
@Pascal Coleman: I thought I heard before that one of the reasons employees contribute a small portion of their pay to union membership is so that they union can subsidise the strikers when on strike and pay them something extent when they are on strike?
@Simon Carroll: Yes , as it should be. Unfortunately it is only pittance , also depends on how long strike lasts. If costumers do not cross the picket line , an Tesco profits suffer… They will not be long in resolving this dispute. Support the striking workers.. Do Not Pass The Picket.
I fully support the staff here, Tesco have a reputation for screwing their staff over and dishonorable work practices in general. Not to mention they don’t give a rats ass about their customers which is evident by the overall presentation of most stores, the general lack of staff in same and the over reliance on “self scan” checkouts wherin they take away a job and offer no cost saving whatsoever to the customer. I’ll continue to shop at lidl thank you where they at the very least pay the living wage.
@Frank Lee: per square ft in shops Tesco hire more staff, and as Tesco do not use central distribution to such a large degree so local supplies still have a chance in Tesco.
@Frank Lee: you complain about the lack of staff in Tesco but yet you shop somewhere that employs less! That’s a bit strange.
@Frank Lee: as someone who has worked for 15 years for that company in the past o don’t know where you getting your info from. Yes they have had falling out with pre 1996 staff over redundancy but trust me they are far from the worst!! We would often get the mandate magazine into each store and left in the canteen and it was always a certain Irish supermarket that was plastered throughout having wronged it’s staff or up in the wrc to the point were I was glad in never took a position there . I have also heard first hand accounts from various managers who worked with me who also worked with this company about the treatment of staff
@Frank Lee: and screwing their customers . Anyone who shops in Tesco and doesn’t focus their Monday on the price displayed as against the price on their bill needs to wake up.
@Terry Cahill: minds
@Frank Lee: Tesco staff have banded guaranteed hour contracts, Do Lidl? Tesco pay premium time for Sunday and early morning & double time for Sundays in December Do Lidl? Tesco have a save as you earn scheme for staff and a great pension, do Lidl? Tesco have subsidised staff food offers, do Lidl? Tesco give staff a 10% discount card, Do Lidl? Tesco allow staff to use money off vouchers as well as the discount card, do Lidl?…
@Fergus Sheahan: They got rid of the drivers, they are kings of the zero contrat and all of it and they make millions. Look at all the Christmas stuff. British Cheeses and all the rest of it.
@Trev: Is that why the staff in my local tesco buy their lunch at the counter or used to buy it in the local spar but it closed. How long are you a management lackey
@Gary Kearney: they have banded contracts not zero contracts! BANDED contracts are what unions would like EVERY other retailer in Ireland to have.. TESCO have them. They do sell some British CHEESE that’s true but also they sell cheese from Italy, Spain, France, IRELAND!! & other places too, You do realise Irish companies sell their products outside Ireland also don’t you?
@Gary Kearney: christ Gary you talk some rubbish. There are literally no zero hour contracts in Tesco. Stop talking crap. Yes, staff may be buying lunch from the counter, but they get it at a discounted rate. Come back when you know what your talking about.
I fully support the staff also. Tesco have no response to the unions and try to influence the new /summer or Christmas staff not to join the union. They still want rid of pre 96 staff that is left.sorry Tesco but you operate in ireland so you need to abide by the laws of ireland not UK.
@Eddie Mc Keown: The only difference for new staff is that they are not automatically entered into the union. It’s up to them to make the decision of whether they wish to join or not.
@Skimothy: how are you now,after your frontal lobotomy?
@Thomas Devlin: good one Tom. Good one.
Let’s not start “Union bashing” or ” Tesco” bashing. I’ve been worker in situations where the union has helped genuine workers with grievances and I’ve been working in situations were lazy workers have hidd behind a union. I don’t know what the situation is with this particular case but all I do know is when Tesco opened in my local area they employed alot of local people and most of them still seem to be working there and semm happy enough. By the way I’m no Tesco fan. I shop in Tesco, Lidl, Aldi & Supervalue- wherever I can get the best prices. You have a choice on where you shop and you have a choice on where you work. Good luck to the workers if these are genuine grievances but let’s have a balanced approach when commenting…
I most certainly will not be shopping in Tesco when they have total disregard for the wishes of the staff and they wish to be represented by Mandate Union . We need to support the Tesco staff
Boycott.Boycott ..
@Margaret ODwyer: ive read the article and the various comments but I am none the wiser on what the actual dispute or grievance is about – i get all the Tesco Bashing / Union bashing whingers – but what EXACTLY is the issue and grievance that is causing them to take the most extreme action a union can take in striking ? anyone ?
Stick to Dunnes and Supervlau
Anyone doubting the strikers here should have a read of Joanna Blythmans book on the practices of tesco and their competitors…. they can well afford to pay staff a decent wage
@Jessie Ginger: they do.
**wont
***wont
Ahh Bless
I’m sure the workers are “disappointed that TESCO engage with the union
I refuse to use the the scan your own lark nor the self service unless in dire emergency. Why as they take jobs. Next they will want us to stack the shelves and unload the trucks too.
have your say