中国A片

Jo Johnson quits as universities minister and MP

Prime minister’s brother cites ‘unresolvable tension’ between ‘family loyalty and the national interest’

九月 5, 2019
Jo Johnson
Source: Getty

Jo Johnson, reappointed as universities and science minister little more than a month ago, has?announced that he is quitting as a minister and standing down as an MP.

An ardent pro-Remain campaigner during the European Union referendum, he had been reappointed at the end of July by the UK’s new prime minister, his brother Boris.

But today, Jo Johnson tweeted that in recent weeks he had been “torn between family loyalty and the national interest”. “It’s an unresolvable tension [and it’s] time for others to take on my roles as MP and minister,” he said.

This week’s purge of Tory moderates from the party by Boris Johnson – after the rebels backed a plan to prevent the new government from taking the UK out of the EU without a deal – may have been a factor in his decision.

His departure means that a new universities and science minister will take up the post – a new minister unlikely to share the pro-European views of the departing Jo Johnson.

A Downing Street spokesman said: “The prime minister would like to thank Jo Johnson for his service. He has been a brilliant, talented minister and a fantastic MP.

“The PM, as both a politician and brother, understands this will not have been an easy matter for Jo. The constituents of Orpington could not have asked for a better representative.”

Jo Johnson was expected to step down as an MP for Orpington at the next general election, expected later this autumn.

Angela Rayner,?Labour's shadow education secretary, said: “Boris Johnson poses such a threat that even his own brother doesn’t trust him.

“We have now had four 中国A片 ministers in two years - just the latest sign of the chaos that the Tories have caused to education and the threat that a disastrous no deal Brexit poses to our colleges and universities.”

john.morgan@timeshighereducation.com

请先注册再继续

为何要注册?

  • 注册是免费的,而且十分便捷
  • 注册成功后,您每月可免费阅读3篇文章
  • 订阅我们的邮件
注册
Please 登录 or 注册 to read this article.

Reader's comments (1)

I see this form of 'lazy' reporting quite alot and bears repeating here - EU is not Europe. EU reflects a *select* number of European countries. Being a pro-Remain should not be used interchangeably with pro-Europe. Pro-Remain is pro-EU, not pro-Europe. Incidentally, pro-UK should not also be used in contradiction to anti-Europe etc... It is possible for pro-UK, pro-Europe, and pro-EU to co-exist harmoniously. Do not fabricate false conflicts when there is none that is logically implied.
ADVERTISEMENT