British Prime Minister Boris Johnson faced yet another challenge from within his own Conservative Party when Brexit Minister David Frost resigned, effective immediately, from Johnson's Cabinet on Saturday, BBC Nws reports.
Frost, who holds a life peerage that entitles him to sit in the House of Lords, had planned to resign next month but moved his timetable up to protest Johnson's new COVID-19 restrictions, including a requirement to show proof of vaccination or a negative test to enter many public venues, according to The Associated Press.
Instead of implementing vaccine passports, Frost wrote in his resignation letter, the U.K. should "learn to live with COVID."
The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.
Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
Frost praised Johnson for his handling of Brexit and for making the "brave decision in July, against considerable opposition, to open up the country again." He also urged the prime minister not to be "tempted by the kind of coercive measures we have seen elsewhere."
Earlier this week, 99 Conservative members of Parliament voted against the passports in the largest defection of Johnson's premiership. Johnson also suffered defeat Thursday when the Liberal Democrats won a by-election in North Shropshire, long considered a safe seat for the Conservatives.
Johnson became prime minister after the resignation of Theresa May in May 2019 and led his party to a massive electoral victory in December of the same year. Now, though, the opposition senses weakness. In response to Frost's resignation, Labour Deputy Leader Angela Rayner said the government seems to be in "total chaos."
-
Fannie Flagg’s 6 favorite books that sparked her imaginationFeature The author recommends works by Johanna Spyri, John Steinbeck, and more
-
Google: A monopoly past its prime?Feature Google’s antitrust case ends with a slap on the wrist as courts struggle to keep up with the tech industry’s rapid changes
-
Patrick Hemingway: The Hemingway son who tended to his father’s legacyFeature He was comfortable in the shadow of his famous father, Ernest Hemingway
-
House posts lewd Epstein note attributed to TrumpSpeed Read The estate of Jeffrey Epstein turned over the infamous 2003 birthday note from President Donald Trump
-
Supreme Court allows 'roving' race-tied ICE raidsSpeed Read The court paused a federal judge's order barring agents from detaining suspected undocumented immigrants in LA based on race
-
South Korea to fetch workers detained in Georgia raidSpeed Read More than 300 South Korean workers detained in an immigration raid at a Hyundai plant will be released
-
DC sues Trump to end Guard 'occupation'Speed Read D.C. Attorney General Brian Schwalb argues that the unsolicited military presence violates the law
-
RFK Jr. faces bipartisan heat in Senate hearingSpeed Read The health secretary defended his leadership amid CDC turmoil and deflected questions about the restricted availability of vaccines
-
White House defends boat strike as legal doubts mountSpeed Read Experts say there was no legal justification for killing 11 alleged drug-traffickers
-
Epstein accusers urge full file release, hint at own listspeed read A rally was organized by Reps. Ro Khanna and Thomas Massie, who are hoping to force a vote on their Epstein Files Transparency Act
-
Court hands Harvard a win in Trump funding battleSpeed Read The Trump administration was ordered to restore Harvard's $2 billion in research grants
