Newspaper headlines: 'Johnson on the brink'

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By BBC News
Staff

The resignation of Chancellor Rishi Sunak and Health Secretary Sajid Javid dominates Britain's papers on Wednesday. "Johnson on the brink" headlines the Times after the ministers walked out in what the paper describes as a "coordinated move that dealt a potentially fatal blow" to the prime minister. The paper reports Boris Johnson's opponents are intending to change the party's leadership rules to push for a second confidence vote before May. Seven in 10 Britons say Mr Johnson should resign, according to a YouGov poll highlighted by the paper.

Comparing Mr Johnson to a "greased piglet", over his ability to escape seemingly impossible situations, the Daily Mail asks if he will be able to "wriggle out of this?" The paper described Tuesday as the "most dramatic night in Westminster" since the toppling of Margaret Thatcher. Calling the resignations a "coup attempt", the Mail reports the prime minister was last night locked in Downing Street plotting his survival in a "fight for his political life".

The Daily Telegraph describes Mr Johnson as "hanging by a thread" following the walkout by the high profile Cabinet ministers and several junior ministers. The paper reports on the prime minister meeting with 80 Tory MPs last night in a pre-arranged meeting in which he indicated tax cuts would now be easier to deliver "in a swipe at Mr Sunak". It comes after the ex-chancellor in his resignation letter hinted that Mr Johnson's plans to both raise spending and cut tax were unrealistic.

The resignations from Boris Johnson's government come after he admitted he knew of sexual misconduct allegations against MP Chris Pincher before promoting him to deputy chief whip. Tory MPs have also told the Financial Times the prime minister told them he was more likely to propose early tax cuts now that Mr Sunak had gone. The paper notes markets will be watching what the change in chancellor will mean for economic policy, including the possibility of a looser fiscal regime that could force the Bank of England to raise interest rates.

Boris Johnson "dismissed a failed coup" and now has a "moment of liberation" to make sweeping tax cuts, is the Daily Express's take. The paper adds following the resignations he displayed a "resolute and determined manner" and declared the government was now free to pursue "a true-blue Tory agenda" paving the way to a general election victory.

The Guardian splashes on a picture of Mr Johnson side by side with his former chancellor and health secretary. The paper reports the resignation of Mr Sunak will increase speculation the ex-chancellor has not given up on a leadership bid.

"Going! Going! Gone?" headlines the Metro as it poses the question whether the prime minister will now resign. It reports Mr Javid wrote in his "bombshell" resignation letter the prime minster had lost the country's confidence, and "it is clear this situation will not change under your leadership".

"End game" says the i newspaper as it describes Mr Johnson's premiership as "on the brink". The prime minister has been left "reeling" after the shock resignation of his chancellor and health secretary, the paper says. It reports Nadhim Zahawi has been made chancellor and Steve Barclay the new health secretary.

"Last chance saloon" headlines the Sun newspaper who likens the resignations to the prime minister being "knifed on day from hell".

The Mirror splashes with a picture of Mr Johnson at a cabinet meeting on Tuesday before the resignations were announced. It describes the departures as the "end game for Boris". It says Mr Sunak and Mr Javid "wielded the knife" after years of backing the prime minister's "toxic government". It adds the "doomed" premier" is now "desperately clinging to power".

And the Daily Star depicts Mr Johnson as a circus ringmaster whose time is "drawing to a close" following the high profile resignations. "Cabinet ministers desert Pinocchio", writes the paper.

The Times, the Guardian and the Financial Times describe Boris Johnson's premiership as "on the brink".

The Times says the resignations of the Chancellor Rishi Sunak and the Health Secretary Sajid Javid within minutes of each other were "apparently co-ordinated" in a move that dealt the PM a "potentially fatal blow".

The paper adds that after their departures, opponents of Mr Johnson said they would push for a second confidence vote in the prime minister before Parliament's summer recess, if he didn't resign.

The Guardian says both Mr Sunak and Mr Javid's resignation letters dealt a "crushing blow to his authority". It notes that Mr Sunak highlighted differences of opinion over economic management between him and Mr Johnson - increasing speculation that the former chancellor has "not given up on a run at the premiership."

The Financial Times reports there was also relief in Downing Street when other cabinet members, including Dominic Raab, Liz Truss and Ben Wallace, indicated that they were staying. But it adds that many Conservative MPs now believe Mr Johnson's time in office is nearing its end.

Pool

Boris Johnson had been in a cabinet meeting with his chancellor only hours before Rishi Sunak resigned

The Daily Telegraph describes the prime minister's situation as "hanging by a thread" but says he is scrambling to shore up his cabinet and insists he will carry on as leader.

In what it calls a "swipe" at Mr Sunak, the paper says Mr Johnson indicated that tax cuts would be easier to deliver now he was no longer the chancellor. The Telegraph carries denials from Mr Javid and Mr Sunak that their resignations were co-ordinated - but says its can also reveal that both men had already discussed resigning with close aides.

It is the "end game" for the prime minister, according to both the i and the Daily Mirror. The i newspaper describes him as "reeling" from the shock resignations and says their attacks on his integrity are to "try to force him out of Downing Street".

For the Mirror the prime minister is "desperately clinging to power", but it thinks he is doomed. The paper quotes an unnamed Tory MP as saying "even his most blinkered allies know it is all over".

Getty Images

Sajid Javid said the government was not "acting in the national interest"

The Sun believes the prime minister is in the "last chance saloon" saying he was "knifed" by his former colleagues on a "day from hell".

The most upbeat coverage for the prime minister is in the Daily Express. With the headline "Boris fights on" it says he dismissed a "failed coup" as a "moment of liberation" that would allow him to unleash sweeping tax cuts.

According to the paper he declared the government was now free to pursue a "true-blue Tory agenda, paving the way for victory in the next election".

The Daily Mail reports that Mr Johnson is fighting for his political life on what it calls the "most dramatic night at Westminster since the toppling of Margaret Thatcher". It says the prime minister was locked in Downing Street last night, trying to plot a route to survival. Its front page headline asks: "Can even Boris, the greased piglet, wriggle out of this?"