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National
Claire Miller

Boris Johnson hit by a rash of resignations - but how does his government compare with previous administrations?

The letters of resignation have been coming thick and fast since Chancellor Rishi Sunak and Health Secretary Sajid Javid quit on Tuesday evening. As of Prime Minister's Questions at noon on Wednesday, Johnson had seen two cabinet ministers and five other ministers resign over his handling of the Chris Pincher allegations.

However, even as Johnson was facing off against Keir Starmer over the dispatch box, another MP quit their Government post. With 15 ministerial resignations (as of 2.45pm) in less than 24 hours, as well as nine private parliamentary secretaries and two trade envoys also going, how does the number of resignations from Johnson's Government compare to other recent PMs?

Since he took over as PM in July 2019, Johnson has had 33 ministers quit, including eight cabinet ministers, more than Thatcher, Major, Blair, and Brown and Cameron. However, that is still a way off the numbers that resigned while May was Prime Minister, when rows over Brexit contributed to 41 ministers quitting, including 10 cabinet ministers.

Blair and Thatcher both had more cabinet ministers hand in their letters of resignation at 12 and 15, respectively. Over much longer terms, Blair saw 29 ministers quit, while Thatcher had 26 resign.

The figures above are from the Institute for Government (IFG), which has been keeping track of resignations. They've excluded parliamentary private secretaries, who act as unpaid assistants to ministers, from the overall numbers

There are some MPs included in the overall list who left the role during a reshuffle, as such the IFG said it can sometimes be difficult to discern whether it was a resignation or a sacking. Other MPs in the list were essentially sacked, having been told to resign.

The Institute for Government data also gives an idea of the rate at which ministers are quitting. Up to the end of his first two years as Prime Minister, Johnson was seeing minsters resign at a faster rate than any other recent PM, however, that rate slowed into his third year, putting him behind Brown and May.

However, the events of the last day have seen the resignation rate for Johnson soar - if the numbers of MPs who've had enough continues to grow he could catch up to May.

Who has quit Boris Johnson's government (as of 2.45pm on July 6)?

Baron Young of Cookham Lord-in-waiting
Government whip
29/08/19 Resigned in protest of Boris Johnson's plans to prorogue parliament.
Jo Johnson Minister of State for Universities, Science, Research and Innovation 05/09/19 Stated he was "torn between family and national interest".
Amber Rudd Secretary of State for Work and Pensions 07/09/19 Resigned over Boris Johnson's "purge" of the party and his "failure" to pursue a deal with the EU.
Alun Cairns Secretary of State for Wales 06/11/19 Resigned following claims he had known about a former aide's role in the "sabotage" of a rape trial.
Conor Burns Minister of State for Trade Policy 04/05/20 Standards Committee found that he had used his position to intimidate a member of the public.
Douglas Ross Parliamentary Under Secretary of State for Scotland 26/05/20 Discontented with Dominic Cummings' explanation for breaching the government's restrictions on travel during the COVID- pandemic.
Simon Clarke Minister of State for Regional Growth and Local Government 08/09/20 Personal reasons.
Lord Keen of Elie Advocate General for Scotland 16/09/20 Concerns arising from the Internal Market Bill.
Chris Green Parliamentary Private Secretary to the Department for Education 13/10/20 Opposed the government's response to the COVID- pandemic.
Caroline Ansell Parliamentary Private Secretary to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs 22/10/20 Defied government whip on free school meals.
Baroness Sugg Parliamentary Under Secretary of State for the Overseas Territories and Sustainable Development 25/11/20 Opposed the announcement of cuts to the overseas aid budget.
Kelly Tolhurst Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Housing and Rough Sleeping 16/01/21 Personal reasons.
Johnny Mercer Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Defence People and Veterans 20/04/21 Expressed frustration that the Overseas Operations Bill did not include legal protections for British soldiers that served in Northern Ireland during the Troubles. It has been reported that Mercer was sacked by Johnson.
Matt Hancock Secretary of State for Health and Social Care 26/06/21 Breaching social distancing guidelines after he was revealed to be having an affair with his aide and departmental Non-Executive Director Gina Coladangelo.
James Brokenshire Minister of State for Security 07/07/21 Health reasons; surgery on a lung tumour.
Lord Frost Minister of State for the Cabinet Office 18/12/21 Opposition to "COVID Plan B" and the political direction of the government.
Lord Agnew of Oulton Minister of State for Efficiency and Transformation 24/01/22 Unable to defend the government's track record on tackling fraud in Covid business schemes.
Angela Richardson Parliamentary Private Secretary to the Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities 31/01/22 Criticised Boris Johnson for his mishandling of the partygate affair
Lord Wolfson of Tredegar Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Justice 13/04/22 Accused Boris Johnson of undermining the rule of law, following his decision not to resign in response to criminal sanctions imposed on him by the Metropolitan Police.
Paul Holmes Parliamentary Private Secretary to the Home Office 27/05/22 Concerns around "toxic culture" at the heart of government following the publication of the Sue Gray report
John Lamont Parliamentary Private Secretary to the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office 06/06/22 Resigned in order to vote against Boris Johnson in a vote of confidence as leader of the Conservative Party
Oliver Dowden Chairman of the Conservative Party
Minister without Portfolio
24/06/22 Resigned over poor results at the Tiverton and Honiton and Wakefield by-elections.
Chris Pincher Government Deputy Chief Whip
Treasurer of the Household
30/06/22 Reports that he drunkenly grouped two men at the Carlton Club on June.
Sajid Javid Secretary of State for Health and Social Care 05/07/22 Multiple resignations following a statement by the Prime Minister in which he confirmed that had been aware of sexual misconduct allegations against Chris Pincher before appointing him to the government.
Rishi Sunak Chancellor of the Exchequer 05/07/22 Resigned over Prime Minister’s handling of the Chris Pincher allegations
Saqib Bhatti Parliamentary Private Secretary to the Department for Health and Social Care 05/07/22 Resigned over Prime Minister’s handling of the Chris Pincher allegations
Jonathan Gullis Parliamentary Private Secretary to the Northern Ireland Office 05/07/22 Resigned over Prime Minister’s handling of the Chris Pincher allegations
Nicola Richards Parliamentary Private Secretary to the Department for Transport 05/07/22 Resigned over Prime Minister’s handling of the Chris Pincher allegations
Virginia Crosbie Parliamentary Private Secretary to the Office of the Secretary of State for Wales 05/07/22 Resigned over Prime Minister’s handling of the Chris Pincher allegations
Alex Chalk Solicitor General for England and Wales 05/07/22 Resigned over Prime Minister’s handling of the Chris Pincher allegations
Will Quince Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Children and Families 06/07/22 Resigned over Prime Minister’s handling of the Chris Pincher allegations
Laura Trott Parliamentary Private Secretary to the Department for Transport 06/07/22 Resigned over Prime Minister’s handling of the Chris Pincher allegations
Robin Walker Minister of State for School Standards 06/07/22 Resigned over Prime Minister’s handling of the Chris Pincher allegations
John Glen Economic Secretary to the Treasury 06/07/22 Resigned over Prime Minister’s handling of the Chris Pincher allegations
Felicity Buchan Parliamentary Private Secretary to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy 06/07/22 Resigned over Prime Minister’s handling of the Chris Pincher allegations
Victoria Atkins Minister of State for Prisons and Probation 06/07/22 Resigned over Prime Minister’s handling of the Chris Pincher allegations
Jo Churchill Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Agri-Innovation and Climate Adaption 06/07/22 Resigned over Prime Minister’s handling of the Chris Pincher allegations
Stuart Andrew Minister of State for Housing 06/07/22 Resigned over Prime Minister’s handling of the Chris Pincher allegations
Selaine Saxby Parliamentary Private Secretary to the Chief Secretary to the Treasury 06/07/22 Resigned over Prime Minister’s handling of the Chris Pincher allegations
David Johnston Parliamentary Private Secretary to the Department for Education 06/07/22 Resigned over Prime Minister’s handling of the Chris Pincher allegations
Claire Coutinho Parliamentary Private Secretary to the HM Treasury 06/07/22 Resigned over Prime Minister’s handling of the Chris Pincher allegations
Kemi Badenoch Minister of State for Local Government, Faith and Communities
Minister of State for Equalities
06/07/22 Resigned over Prime Minister’s handling of the Chris Pincher allegations
Neil O'Brien Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Levelling Up, The Union and Constitution 06/07/22 Resigned over Prime Minister’s handling of the Chris Pincher allegations
Alex Burghart Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Apprenticeships and Skills 06/07/22 Resigned over Prime Minister’s handling of the Chris Pincher allegations
Julia Lopez Minister of State for Media, Data, and Digital Infrastructure 06/07/22 Resigned over Prime Minister’s handling of the Chris Pincher allegations
Lee Rowley Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Business and Industry 06/07/22 Resigned over Prime Minister’s handling of the Chris Pincher allegations
Mims Davies Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Employment 06/07/22 Resigned over Prime Minister’s handling of the Chris Pincher allegations
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