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2 more UK ministers resign in fresh blow to Boris

The |Prime Minister Boris Johnson leaves Number 10 for prime Minister's Questions. 10 Downing Street. Picture by Tim Hammond / No 10 Downing Street

The resignations have added to the pressure on the Prime Minister following the departure of his health and finance ministers…reports Asian Lite News

In a fresh blow to UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson, who recently survived a leadership challenge, three more have resigned from his government on Wednesday, media reports said.

Education ministers Will Quince and Robin Walker and ministerial aide Laura Trott on Wednesday, BBC reported.

Will Quince said he had “no choice but to tender my resignation” while Laura Trott said she was quitting over a loss of “trust” in the government.

The resignations have added to the pressure on the Prime Minister following the departure of his health and finance ministers.

Two of Boris Johnson’s top ministers — Chancellor of the Exchequer Rishi Sunak and Health Secretary Sajid Javid — quit the government on Tuesday.

“I have spoken to the Prime Minister to tender my resignation as Secretary of State for Health & Social Care. It has been an enormous privilege to serve in this role, but I regret that I can no longer continue in good conscience,” Javid had said in a tweet.

Javid said he can no longer serve in Boris Johnson’s government in “good conscience” as he has “lost confidence” in the Prime Minister.

Setting out his decision to quit in a letter, he wrote: “I am instinctively a team player but the British people also rightly expect integrity from their Government. 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. We may not have always been popular, but we have been competent in acting in the national interest.

“Sadly, in the current circumstances, the public are concluding that we are now neither. The vote of confidence last month showed that a large number of our colleagues agree. It was a moment for humility, grip and a new direction. I regret to say, however, that it is clear to me that this situation will not change under your leadership – and you have therefore lost my confidence too.”

Soon after, Sunak also put in his paper, saying “we’re fundamentally too different”.

In his letter, he said “the public rightly expect the government to be conducted properly, competently and seriously. I believe these standards are worth fighting for and that is why I am resigning.”

Noting that “our country is facing immense challenges”, he said: “I publicly 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,” he added.

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Modi chairs meeting of council of ministers

In the last round of the meeting, an open house session was held in which many ministers also presented their suggestions to the Prime Minister on the issue of improving the functioning of the government…reports Asian Lite News.

A meeting of the Council of Ministers was held on Tuesday under the chairmanship of Prime Minister Narendra Modi. In this crucial meeting, Modi reviewed the progress report of many projects.

According to sources, in Tuesday’s meeting, Union Commerce, Consumer and Food and Supplies Minister Piyush Goyal and Union Jal Shakti Minister Gajendra Singh Shekhawat provided information about various projects and also came up with a presentation in the meeting regarding their implementation. The Prime Minister also gave several instructions regarding these projects.

In the last round of the meeting, an open house session was held in which many ministers also presented their suggestions to the Prime Minister on the issue of improving the functioning of the government.

Since coming to power, the Prime Minister keeps holding meetings of the Council of Ministers in this way at regular intervals apart from the cabinet meetings. Only cabinet ministers are involved in cabinet meetings and they are called only if any matter related to the ministry of a minister is included in the agenda of the meeting. But the meeting of the Council of Ministers consists of ministers of all three levels (cabinet ministers, ministers of state – independent charge and ministers of state).

The meet is termed as ‘Chintan Shivir’ in which the junior and new ministers learn the style of work from senior and seasoned ministers and they also get the guidance of the Prime Minister.

This was the fourth time since the reshuffle of the Union Cabinet on July 7 when the Prime Minister had called a meeting of the Council of Ministers. In the last meeting, Union Health Minister Mansukh Mandaviya and Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan gave a presentation.

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Charities, former ministers slam planned aid cuts

More than 1,700 academics, charities and business leaders have signed a letter warning that aid cuts have led to feeding centers, health clinics shutting down in impoverished countries, reports Asian Lite News

Some of the world’s most impoverished countries, including Yemen and Afghanistan, could face devastating food shortages along with the closure of health and education facilities as a result of planned UK cuts to foreign aid spending, charities have warned.
Ahead of a potential vote in the House of Commons on Monday that will decide the fate of the aid changes, including a reduction in spending from 0.7 percent of national income to 0.5 percent, a coalition of high-profile charities such as Oxfam and ActionAid UK have warned in a letter that the cuts could have a “devastating” effect on Britain’s international credibility.
Last year, the top five recipients of Britain’s foreign aid were Pakistan, Ethiopia, Afghanistan, Yemen and Nigeria.

Save the Children, WWF UK and Cafod also signed the letter, which included more than 1,700 academics, charities and business leaders, warning that aid reductions already have led to feeding centers and health clinics shutting down in impoverished countries.
Water sanitation and health training programs were also affected, charities said.
“While other G7 countries have stepped up their aid budgets, the UK is the only one to have rowed back on its commitments,” the letter added, warning that the planned cuts amid the pandemic would represent a “double blow to the world’s poorest communities.”

A senior UN diplomat has also warned Prime Minister Boris Johnson that the proposal to slash overseas aid is “tarnishing faith in Britain’s trustworthiness at a crucial moment.”
Mark Lowcock, a former permanent secretary at the Department for International Development, added that Johnson’s overseeing of the policy shift revealed “a failure of kindness and empathy.”
He told The Observer newspaper: “At the moment, I’m particularly alarmed about a famine now affecting hundreds of thousands of people in Ethiopia, the biggest famine problem the world has seen for 10 years. Last year, the UK reported to the UN the provision of $108 million of humanitarian assistance to Ethiopia. This year, they have so far reported $6 million.”
He added: “It is very corrosive of trust, confidence and your reputation, and your relationships with people who matter to your own interests and prosperity. Every other country faces the same economic problems. But no one else in the G7 is responding in this way.”
Opposition groups and figures are demanding an immediate reversal to the planned cuts.

UNICEF

Some former senior Conservative ministers have also criticised the proposal.
Former culture secretary Karen Bradley said: “The prime minister’s personal priority for aid is girls’ education. But girls’ education has been cut by 25 percent, while UNICEF, the UN children’s fund, has had a cut of 60 percent. It just doesn’t make sense. You only get one chance at childhood.”
Caroline Nokes, former immigration minister, said: “The cuts to UK aid represent just 1 percent of what the chancellor is borrowing this year. But they mean funding for the UN’s reproductive health program has been cut by 85 percent.
“The UN says this aid would have helped prevent around 250,000 maternal and child deaths. This is literally an issue of life and death,” she added.

The Church of England has also warned that the cuts could have immediate consequences for war-torn Yemen.
Nick Baines, the bishop of Leeds, said: “Has anyone defended the cuts to Yemen? Arguing for girls’ education amounts to empty words when action denies honest intent. This is a shameful reneging on a promise, a denial of compassionate justice, and cries out for remedy.”
The charity coalition said that there is “no justifiable economic need” for the cuts, which the government has said will save almost £4 billion ($5.66 billion) per year.
However, Health Secretary Matt Hancock, a proponent of the aid changes, said: “The decisions that the government has taken around this are entirely reasonable. We face a once-in-300-year economic interruption.”

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