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Johnson bracing for vote of no confidence

mahla — Thu, 02 Jun 2022 04:53:35 +0000

TEHRAN (Iran News) –The flow of Conservative party MPs publicly calling for British Prime Minister Boris Johnson to resign is gathering pace.

The fresh rebellion in the aftermath of the Sue Gray report and shocking defeats in the local elections has made conservatives feeling unease toward their leader’s heading into the General election.

Reports vary on the number of MPs questioning Johnson’s leadership with some indicating at least 40 have publicly expressed opposition while at least 28 Tory MPs have publicly stated they have written a letter of no confidence.

Senior Conservatives are said to bracing for the possibility of a vote of confidence as soon as next week.

At least 15-percent of Tory Party MPs must write a no-confidence letter to make a leadership challenge possible.

Currently, that means 54 MPs must submit a letter of no confidence to pass the threshold that automatically triggers a new leadership race.

Former Prime Minister, Theresa May faced a no-confidence vote after only 24 Tory MPs publicly stated they had written letters of no confidence. However, 48 MPs was the 15 percent threshold at the time, which meant only half of the lawmakers had revealed their intentions in public.

Adding to Johnson’s headaches, his own ethics advisor has piled more pressure by suggesting the PM may have broken the ministerial code when he was fined by police for breaking coronavirus rules.

Christopher Geidt has demanded Johnson provide a public explanation as to why he believes the code was not breached.

He appears to have threatened his resignation as an independent adviser if the PM does not explain why being issued a fixed penalty notice did not constitute a breach of the code saying “a legitimate question has arisen as to whether those facts alone might have constituted a breach of the overarching duty within the Ministerial Code of complying with the law.”

“It may be that the prime minister considers that no such breach of his Ministerial Code has occurred. In that case, I believe a prime minister should respond accordingly, setting out his case in public.” Geidt added.

Johnson became the first serving UK Prime Minister to have broken the law while in office and was fined for attending a party in 2020 during a nationwide Coronavirus lockdown when gatherings were banned under rules imposed by the government of Johnson itself.

A new poll shows the main opposition Labour Party has taken an eleven-point lead over the Conservatives according to the latest Savanta ComRes survey.

Former Conservative Party leader, William Hague, has said “I think Boris Johnson is in real trouble here… a lot of people misread the events of last week as meaning the trouble is over, [that] Boris is [now] free.”

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UK goes to polls to decide about Brexit

reporter 1222 — Thu, 12 Dec 2019 09:46:00 +0000

TEHRAN (Iran News) – UK voters go to the polls on Thursday in an election that will pave the way for Brexit under Prime Minister Boris Johnson or propel Britain towards another referendum that could ultimately reverse the decision to leave the European Union.

After failing to deliver Brexit by an Oct. 31 deadline, Johnson called the Dec. 12 election to break what he cast as political paralysis that had thwarted Britain’s departure and sapped confidence in the economy.

The face of the “Leave” campaign in the 2016 referendum, 55-year-old Johnson fought the election under the slogan of “Get Brexit Done”, promising to end the deadlock and spend more on health, education and the police.

His main opponent, Labor leader Jeremy Corbyn, 70, promised higher public spending, nationalization of key services, taxes on the wealthy and another referendum on Brexit.

All major UK opinion polls suggest Johnson will win, though pollsters got the 2016 referendum wrong and their models predict outcomes ranging from a hung parliament to the biggest Conservative landslide since the era of Margaret Thatcher.

“We could have a Conservative majority government which will get Brexit done and unleash Britain’s potential,” Johnson told campaigners. “This election is our chance to end the gridlock but the result is on a knife-edge.”

Corbyn said the Conservatives were the party of “billionaires” while Labor represented the many.

“You can vote for despair and vote for the dishonesty of this government, or you can vote Labor and get a government that can bring hope to the future,” he said, Reuters reported.

UK polls open at 0700 GMT and close at 2200 GMT when an exit poll will give the first indications of the result. Official results from the bulk of United Kingdom’s 650 different constituencies begin to come in from 2300 GMT to 0500 GMT.

While Brexit framed the United Kingdom’s first December election since 1923, the tortuous exit from the EU has variously fatigued, enthused and enraged voters while eroding loyalties to the two major parties.

A majority would allow Johnson to lead the country out of the club it first joined in 1973, but Brexit would still be far from over. He faces the daunting task of negotiating a trade agreement with the EU in a self-imposed deadline of 11 months.

After Jan. 31, Britain would enter a transition period during which it would negotiate a new relationship with the EU27. He has pledged to do that by the end of 2020.

Sterling markets are pricing in a Johnson win. But a five-year flurry of two historic referendums – on Scottish independence in 2014 and Brexit in 2016 – and two national elections in 2015 and 2017 have delivered often unexpected results that ushered in political crises.

The election pitches two of the most unconventional British politicians of recent years against each other. Both have been repeatedly written off by opponents and both offer starkly different visions for the world’s fifth-largest economy.

Johnson’s pitch is Brexit but he shrank from anything more radical in a heavily choreographed campaign. Corbyn pitched what he calls a radical transformation for a country long wedded to free-market liberalism.

Johnson, the New York-born former mayor of London, won the top job in July. His predecessor, Theresa May, resigned after failing to get parliamentary backing for her Brexit deal with the EU and then losing her party’s majority in a snap election.

Johnson defied critics by striking a new deal with the EU but was unable to navigate the maze of a divided British parliament and was defeated by opponents whom he portrayed as traitors subverting the will of the people.

The United Kingdom voted by 52%-48% in 2016 to quit the EU. But parliament has been deadlocked since May’s failed bet on a 2017 snap election over how, when and even whether to leave.

Corbyn, once an opponent of the EU who now says he would remain neutral if he was a prime minister overseeing another referendum, was repeatedly grilled over his Brexit plans. He pledged to overthrow a “rigged system” he said was run by billionaires and tax dodgers.

Both made missteps during the campaign.

Johnson in one interview refused to look at a picture of a sick four-year-old boy forced to lie on the floor of a hospital and then inexplicably took the phone from a reporter and pocketed it. He later apologized.

Corbyn, a veteran campaigner for Palestinian rights, repeatedly avoided apologizing for what some party members, lawmakers and Jewish leaders say is his failure to tackle anti-Semitism from some elements within the party. He apologized eventually.

Johnson’s strategy was to breach Labor’s so-called “Red Wall” of seats across the Brexit-supporting areas of the Midlands and northern England where he described his political opponents as the out-of-touch enemies of Brexit.

“If I’m honest with you, there’s no choice,” said voter Andrew Davis, from Kent in southern England. “I don’t like any of the main candidates, so I’m struggling.”

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Iranian Official Raps UK Arms Sales to Saudi Arabia

reporter 1222 — Sun, 10 Dec 2017 10:50:05 +0000

TEHRAN – Secretary of Iran’s Supreme National Security Council Ali Shamkhani denounced the British government’s sales of arms and military equipment to Saudi Arabia, saying such support amounts to involvement in the crimes against the war-torn people of Yemen.

In a meeting with British Foreign Secretary Boris Johnson in Tehran on Saturday, Shamkhani decried the UK sales of weapons to violators of human rights, such as the Saudi Arabian and Bahraini regimes.

While the blockade and bombing of Yemen have drawn international condemnation, those aiding and abetting such crimes are also regarded as violators of human rights by the world public opinion, the Iranian official said.

Since March 2015, Saudi Arabia and some of its Arab allies have been carrying out deadly airstrikes against the Houthi Ansarullah movement in an attempt to restore power to fugitive former president Abd Rabbuh Mansour Hadi, a close ally of Riyadh.

Over 14,000 Yemenis, including thousands of women and children, have lost their lives in the deadly military campaign.

Shamkhani also referred to US President Donald Trump’s decision to recognize the city of al-Quds (Jerusalem) as the new capital of Israel, saying the move has unified voices across the Muslim world and put the spotlight on Palestine, the Islamic world’s paramount issue.

For his part, Johnson voiced London’s opposition to the US decision to declare Quds capital of Israel, saying Britain will keep its embassy in Tel Aviv.

Unilateral measures would hamper the peace process, he added.

Heading a diplomatic delegation, Johnson arrived in Tehran on Saturday morning and held a meeting with Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif.

Iran and Britain moved to improve relations after finalization of the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA), a nuclear agreement between Iran and the Group 5+1 (Russia, China, the US, Britain, France and Germany), which came into force in January 2016.

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Britain Reiterates Commitment to JCPOA

reporter 1222 — Sat, 09 Dec 2017 16:35:43 +0000

TEHRAN – British Foreign Secretary Boris Johnson in a visit to Tehran reaffirmed his country’s commitment to the full implementation of the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA), a nuclear agreement between Iran and six world powers.

Heading a diplomatic delegation, Johnson arrived in Tehran on Saturday morning and held a meeting with Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif.

In the gathering, the top British diplomat highlighted the significance that London attaches to the JCPOA, saying his country remains committed to the full implementation of the nuclear deal.

He also called for closer cooperation and continuation of consultations with Iran.

Other topics discussed in the meeting included Tehran-London economic relations, ways to boost banking and trade ties, as well as regional and international issues.

Iran-Britain ties soured in 2011. On November 27, 2011, a large majority of Iranian lawmakers voted to downgrade diplomatic ties with London, following Britain’s decision to impose sanctions on the Central Bank of Iran.

Later, angry Iranian students stormed the British embassy in Tehran and pulled down the European country’s flag.

Following the incident, Britain withdrew its diplomatic staff from Tehran on November 30, 2011, and asked Iran’s diplomatic delegation in London to leave within 48 hours.

The two countries made diplomatic efforts afterward to amend ties.

In August 2015, the British embassy in Iran reopened after a 4-year closure. Britain’s then foreign secretary, Philip Hammond, attended a ceremony in Tehran to mark the reopening on August 23. It was the first visit by a British foreign secretary to Iran since 2003.

Simultaneously, Iran’s embassy in London also reopened.

The thaw in Tehran-London relations came after finalization of the JCPOA in July 2015. The nuclear deal took effect in January 2016.

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Hard days for British Johnson

reporter 1222 — Tue, 21 Nov 2017 13:10:23 +0000

TEHRAN _ Boris Johnson’s name is familiar to many people who follow the UK political developments! Johnson is one of the most prominent members of the British Conservative Party. However, he is facing hard times in his country. He is now accused of ineffectiveness in the UK’s political and executive atmosphere by the media and many of the British politicians. This is while Johnson was named as one of the main alternatives for the position of the UK’s Prime Minister.

Alexander Boris de Pfeffel Johnson, known as Boris Johnson, is a 51-year-old politician who sees himself in a proper position to be the prime minister of his country.

ِDuring the years between 2008 and 2016, when he was the mayor of London, he became popular with the conservative party supporters. He could even gain popularity among people with no particular political orientation. He is also known for adopting liberal approaches among conservatives. Boris Johnson is considered a different politician in the conservative party. He is especially different from members like David Cameron and Theresa May.

Johnson was one of the main supporters of his country’s exit from the European Union during the Brexit referendum. Adopting this stance towards the departure of Britain from Europe has led to the anger of many of his party members, including Prime Minister David Cameron. After David Cameron’s resigned his post, many British analysts thought that Johnson would be introduced as the new prime minister. But eventually, we witnessed the presence of Theresa May was at the top of political and administrative equations in London.

During the UK general election in 2017, which led to a relative defeat of conservatives, some of Johnson party members asked him to prepare himself to be the next British prime minister. It has reached a point that some English media referred to Johnson as the successor to Theresa May. However, the foreign secretary eventually preferred to stay in his position.

At the moment, Johnson doesn’t have much luck to be present at the top of political and executive equations of London. In other words, many people who believed that he would be a good successor to Theresa May, have now discarded this idea. In such a situation, Johnson should throw out the thought of being the next UK’s Prime Minister! Many media in Britain now agree that Johnson is a man of great mistakes in the political arena.

The fact is that Johnson has not been able to appear as a different politician since his presence in the British Foreign Office. This has reduced hopes for his effective role in other political and executive positions. Interestingly, Boris Johnson was born in the United States of America (in New York) and has two American and English nationalities. Yet Johnson has renounced his American nationality in 2016.

Boris Johnson, in the aftermath of Donald Trump’s presence at the White House, just like other foreign ministers in his country, has adapted himself to the policies of the U.S. government. Most of Johnson’s remarks were endorsed by Donald Tramp’s remarks. Even on issues such as the JCPOA, this approach is quite evident. For example, Boris Johnson, in his latest remarks, has emphasized the need to maintain a nuclear deal with Iran. This is while the English authorities, following the president of the United States, welcome the change in the content of the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA). Johnson recently stated that the British government will continue to support foreign investment in Iran:

The central core of the deal, which is a bargain on Iran’s good behavior in relation to its nuclear program and its economic development, has not changed, and the President of the United States has not canceled or torn off the nuclear deal with Iran. As long as Iran is committed to the JCPOA, we should be witnessing economic interactions and progress. It is important for the Iranian people to be able to touch the interests of the JCPOA, and it is very important that we continue to work on trade and investment between the two countries.”

Johnson’s approach towards “the JCPOA” and also “Brexit” reflects his absolute agreement with the policies of the current U.S. government. Like Donald Trump and other American politicians, he is thinking about changing the content of the nuclear deal and incorporating issues such as Iran’s missile power into the new agreement.

Not long ago, just before the United Nations General Assembly’s New York Summit in September, Western media reported that the British government (Britain’s Foreign Office) had agreed to redefine the nuclear deal, based on the U.S. objectives. Obviously, Johnson played a significant role in this process, and he will be an opponent of Trump’s Theories towards the JCPOA in the future.

Another point that needs to be taken into consideration is that there is some kind of harmony between the positions taken by Trump and those by Johnson over the issue of Brexit. As noted, the current foreign secretary has been a fan of the withdrawal of his country from the European Union among the conservative party. That’s while Donald Trump, the U.S President, announced his support from the Brexit during the 2016 presidential elections.

After Trump’s victory in the presidential election last year, he again stated his support for the British withdrawal from Europe, and even asked other European countries to join this process.Following this position by Trump, many European politicians responded to the US-led anti-European approach. However, Boris Johnson, as the British Foreign Secretary, didn’t object Trump in this regard. In other words, the British Foreign Secretary has silently shown that he agrees with Trump’s stances on the undermining of the United Europe.

Boris Johnson is now extremely worried about his political future. If he resigns, he will be far removed from his main desire which is to be appointed as the British prime minister. This has deeply affected the mind of Boris Johnson. Meanwhile, some analysts have already announced the expiry date of the current UK foreign secretary.

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Johnson meets American counterpart

reporter 1222 — Thu, 14 Sep 2017 07:36:20 +0000

TEHRAN – The British Foreign Office says that UK Foreign Secretary Boris Johnson will meet with his American counterpart in London on Thursday to discuss policy issues ranging from the consequences of Hurricane Irma to Libya and North Korea.

UK Foreign Secretary Boris Johnson will meet with US State Secretary Rex Tillerson in London on Thursday for talks that will range from the aftermath of Hurricane Irma to Libya and North Korea, the British Foreign Office has said.

“I’ve seen firsthand the devastation Hurricane Irma has caused people in the Caribbean. Close coordination with our allies is vital for both the short-term and long-term recovery efforts,” Johnson was quoted as saying Wednesday ahead of the meeting.

He also pledged UK’s continued commitment to help its partners “to tackle the shared challenges we face worldwide.” This includes “aggressive and illegal actions” by North Korea, which has fired several ballistic missiles and tested a nuclear weapon in recent months.

British Foreign Secretary Boris Johnson, right, has a flack jacket adjusted by an unidentified serviceman while visiting a NATO military unit outside Tallinn, Estoni

Tillerson’s visit will also provide an opportunity to discuss ways of breaking the political deadlock in Libya, which has been governed by two rival administrations in Tripoli and Tobruk.

“Helping to bring stability to Libya is a vital part of UK efforts to tackle the threat from terrorism and the issue of illegal migration, which exist in close proximity to Europe,” the Foreign Office said.

British authorities emphasized this would be Secretary Tillerson’s second visit to the United Kingdom since he took up his post and would follow his visit last May in the wake of the Manchester terror attack, which killed 22 people and injured 120.

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