British Finance Minister Rishi Sunak has resigned from the cabinet citing differences in economic approaches with Prime Minister Boris Johnson.
His resignation came shortly after Health Secretary Sajid Javid had also resigned. The resignations came after Boris Johnson apologised on Tuesday evening, for appointing Chris Pincher as deputy chief whip, despite belatedly admitting having known that Pincher was found to have behaved inappropriately in 2019. Pincher resigned on Friday evening after admitting to getting drunk, and being accused of groping young men.
In his resignation letter, Javid said: “The tone you set as a leader, and the values you represent, reflect on your colleagues, your party and ultimately the country. Conservatives at their best are seen as hard-headed decision-makers, guided by strong values.”
Sunak also highlighted differences of opinion about economic management between him and Johnson, in the run-up to a joint speech the pair had planned in the weeks ahead. Pindula News presents Sunak’s resignation letter in full below:
Dear Prime Minister
It is with deep sadness that I am writing to you to resign from the Government.
It has been an enormous privilege to serve our country as Chancellor of the Exchequer and I will always be proud of how during the pandemic we protected people’s jobs and businesses through actions such as furlough.
To leave ministerial office is a serious matter at any time. For me to step down as Chancellor while the world is suffering the economic consequences of the pandemic, the war in Ukraine and other serious challenges is a decision that I have not taken lightly.
However, the public rightly expects government to be conducted properly, competently and seriously. I recognise this may be my last ministerial job, but I believe these standards are worth fighting for and that is why I am resigning.
I have been loyal to you. I backed you to become Leader of our Party and encouraged others to do so. I have served as your Chancellor with gratitude that you entrusted me with stewardship of the nation’s economy and finances. Above all, I have respected the powerful mandate given to you by the British people in 2019 and how under your leadership we broke the Brexit deadlock.
That is why I have always tried to compromise in order to deliver the things you want to achieve. On those occasions where I disagreed with you privately, I have supported you publicly. That is the nature of the collective government upon which our system relies and it is particularly important that the Prime Minister and Chancellor remain united in hard times such as those we are experiencing today.
Our country is facing immense challenges. We both want a low-tax, high-growth economy, and world-class public services, but this can only be responsibly delivered if we are prepared to work hard, make sacrifices and take difficult decisions.
I firmly believe the public are ready to hear that truth. Our people know that if something is too good to be true then it’s not true. They need to know that whilst there is a path to a better future, it is not an easy one. In preparation for our proposed joint speech on the economy next week, it has become clear to me that our approaches are fundamentally too different.
I am sad to be leaving Government but I have reluctantly come to the conclusion that we cannot continue like this.