The Tory party is in the eye of the storm today after it was announced last night that former chancellor Rishi Sunak and former health secretary Sajid Javid resigned – what did the people of Northallerton have to say about it all?
The whipping turmoil that Boris Johnson has found himself in has only grown worse as the day has progressed with a string of ministers resigning following the shock announcement from Sunak and Javid.
Despite the appointment of a new chancellor and health secretary the next day, it wasn’t long before other ministers and MPs were dropping like flies, such as Laura Trott, Will Quince and Victoria Atkins.
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But many Northallerton residents don’t feel this will be the end of the Prime Minister, with some arguing that it will be “a couple of weeks” before he quits himself, but not denying it was inevitable that he would be leaving.
Robin Davison, 74, said there has been a “groundswell” of opposition to the PM, but felt that the former chancellor has “ulterior motives” for resigning.
He added: “I think two things, one he doesn’t agree with the changes and cuts that he is proposing, or the give back to the public that Boris Johnson is proposing.
“I also think he wants to have a go at the leadership, those are the two things, and I think that’s been underlined for quite some time.”
According to Mr Davison, the Prime Minister has been “promising everyone everything but he hasn’t given the people that voted him in what they wanted.”
He added: “One was illegal immigration and two was reducing the cost of living because what no one is really looking at is that we’ve had two years of Covid.
“Which has had a great impact, not just on us but on the world and people are jumping on the bandwagon, such as the train drivers going on strike which is very destructive and harmful to people trying to get to work.”
“Hospitals, teachers and other organisations talking about going on strike as well.
He continued to stress that there had been an “undercurrent” of dark forces working against the Prime Minister, including former Labour Prime Minister Tony Blaire.
He added: “I think there’s been an undercurrent of dark forces such as Tony Blair stirring up Europe, who have been agitating all the time with anti-Brexit propaganda.
“They’ve been working with Macron as well to try and get us back into the EU and I think that’s behind a lot of unrest.
“But I wouldn’t vote for Rishi Sunak if he tried for Prime Minister, two people I would vote for would be Lord Frost as he did a really good job on Brexit negotiations and secondly is the defence secretary.”
Steve Orwin, 64 said that he thought “most of them were going to resign” and that they have “all had enough."
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He said: “I think if they want to save the party, they’re going to have to do something and that’s all they can do apart from kick them out, physically kick them out.
“I think Boris will have to resign, I don’t think he’ll go on his own accord, but he will be eventually forced, maybe in a couple of weeks.”
Mr Orwin feels they aim to bring Rishi back in as Prime Minister, and “would vote for him if they did.”
He added: “I was always a Labour voter, but I think Boris Johnson has done a good job with the pandemic, but I think he’s gone too far with trying to hide things instead of coming out straight away.
“People don’t trust him now, but I do think Rishi Sunak will be in sooner than later to be honest.”
Barry Griffiths argued that “Rishi was definitely right to resign” and Boris had a lot of opportunities where “he should have resigned” but he will eventually be “forced out.”
However, he did stress that the 1922 committee would be the force behind his expulsion.
He added: “I think Rishi would be favourite if he did run for Prime Minister, without a doubt and I would possibly support him yes.
“He’s quite moderate in the way he handles being chancellor and I think most people will think he’s the guy for the job.
“My opinion of Rishi has been changed by him resigning, definitely, I just hope he isn’t tarnished by the whole thing, but I think he got out in the wrong time, if he’d stayed in any longer he would have been damaged.”
Rishi Sunak had been a “good local member of parliament” and an “honourable man” even though “he is very rich”, said Gordon Corbett who was visiting from Durham.
He continued to argue: “I don’t know what Boris will do, he doesn’t have any scruples, he has a superiority complex, he thinks he’s better than everyone and whatever he decides is right.
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“The words 'trust me' seem to have come into disrepute as a result.”
Rishi Sunak running for prime minister would be a surety, according to Mr Corbett, he said: “It seems if you’re an MP, you’re in it for the power, local councillors are interested in local events, MPs are there to be in a position of power and the higher up the ladder they can go the better.
“I’m sure it’s a personal aim of Rishi’s to be prime minister, I’ve always been a traditional socialist though so it really hurts to vote conservative, even though I live in Northallerton.”
David Stout said Rishi had made the decision to “save his own career” and he would have “made a great Prime Minister.”
He said: “I believe that Boris could have resigned, if Nadhim Zahawi hadn’t replaced him, I think it’s now going to be delayed maybe a few weeks or a few months and Boris has nothing to lose now, he lost everything else so why resign.
“Unless there is a nuclear war, or a mass invasion of flying ants or something, that’s the only thing that will make him go, why should he not stay on?”
Margaret Brown said that as far as she’s concerned “they’re all as bad as each other, so I give up with it all.”
Read more: LIVE UPDATES: Yet another Tory minister resigns under Boris Johnson Government
She added: “That’s the trouble though, that’s why they stay in because there’s no one else who look as if they’d do any better.”
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