British Prime Minister Boris Johnson’s plan to kick off what is in effect an election campaign casting parliament as the enemy of Brexit was overshadowed when his younger brother quit the government, citing the national interest.
As the United Kingdom spins towards an election, Brexit remains up in the air more than three years after Britons voted to leave the bloc in a 2016 referendum. Options range from a turbulent “no-deal” exit to abandoning the whole endeavour.
Ahead of a speech in Wakefield, northern England, where Mr Johnson effectively began an informal election campaign, his own brother Jo resigned as a junior business minister and said he was stepping down as an MP for their Conservative Party.
“In recent weeks I’ve been torn between family loyalty and the national interest — it’s an unresolvable tension & time for others to take on my roles,” he tweeted.