LONDON, Sept 8 (NNN-AGENCIES) – Amber Rudd, the British secretary of state for work and pensions and minister for women and equalities, resigned from the cabinet on Saturday. Her departure marks another setback for Conservative Prime Minister Boris Johnson.
Rudd tweeted late Saturday that she resigned and surrendered the Conservative Whip. “I cannot stand by as good, loyal moderate Conservatives are expelled”, she wrote, adding that she remained committed to “the One Nation values that drew me into politics.”
Johnson had kicked out 21 Tory rebels from the faction on Tuesday who voted against their own government in the dispute over the prime minister’s Brexit course.
Among them are such prominent members as former Chancellor of the Exchequer Ken Clarke and the grandson of war premier Winston Churchill, Nicholas Soames.
In the Brexit referendum in 2016, Rudd had supported Britain remaining in the European Union. While initially opposed to a no-deal Brexit, she accepted when she joined Johnson’s cabinet that this was an option that had to be on the table, she wrote in her resignation letter to the prime minister.
“However, I no longer believe leaving with a deal is the government’s main objective”, she added.
Johnson has vowed that Britain will leave the EU on October 31, with or without a deal.
The prime minister is increasingly being criticized for his harsh actions such as suspending parliament, sacking parliamentarians and calling for snap elections.
On Thursday, his brother, Jo Johnson, resigned his office as secretary of state and his mandate as a member of parliament for the Tories in protest.
“In recent weeks I have been torn between loyalty to the family and national interest – it is an irresolvable tension,” said Jo Johnson, explaining his decision.
Despite all the adversity, Johnson wants to try again on Monday to push through a new election on October 15. Opposition lawmakers already agreed to vote against Johnson, denying him the necessary two-thirds majority.
Parliament’s elected main house, the Commons, on Wednesday approved a bill preventing a no-deal Brexit, despite Johnson claiming it “would mean years of uncertainty and delay” because the legislation requires a further postponement of Britain’s departure from the EU.
The bill to prevent a no-deal Brexit is expected to receive royal assent – allowing it to become law – on Monday.
