British Prime Minister Boris Johnson's brother quits Parliament, choosing 'national interest' over 'family loyalty'

It has not been a great week for British Prime Minister Boris Johnson, who suffered a string of big losses in Parliament. He suffered another one on Thursday morning when his brother, fellow Conservative member of Parliament Jo Johnson announced he's quitting, saying he's been "torn between family loyalty and the national interest."

If there was sympathy for Boris Johnson, it wasn't immediately evident on Twitter.

A former journalist like his brother, Jo Johnson's "tweet today is loaded with ambiguity," The Guardian notes. He appears to be saying "he can no longer support the government's policies," though he voted with the government on Tuesday and Wednesday. Jo Johnson was promoted to his brother's Cabinet "even though he voted remain in 2010 and he is much more pro-European than his brother," The Guardian adds. "It is hard to believe that he is comfortable about the idea of a no-deal Brexit, although he has not questioned his brother's strategy in public."

Subscribe to The Week

Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.

SUBSCRIBE & SAVE

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.

Sign up

Also, adds British journalist Robert Peston, Jo Johnson "told colleagues how upset he was at purging of Tory MPs ... to whom he is closer politically in many ways than to his brother, especially on Brexit."