Today, as they uploaded ever more humorous memes online, Britons continued to gorge on the political drama surrounding Boris Johnson’s resignation as prime minister.
In the past 24 hours, 57 MPs and ministers have resigned from their positions, eventually driving Mr. Johnson out of his role as prime minister.
On Tuesday evening, Health Secretary Sajid Javid and Chancellor Rishi Sunak announced their resignations. Their departures prompted walkouts by more junior members of the Government; today’s resignations come from ministers Will Quince and Robin Walker.
Now that Mr Johnson’s time in Number 10 is coming to an end, dozens of memes making light of the situation were posted on Twitter.
The hashtag #BorisGoneson has begun to gain traction on the social media platform, with one user describing the ‘new Tory slogan’ as ‘Going, going, gone’.
One showed Nadine Dorries and Boris Johnson in a cartoon cave with the subtitles, ‘This is where I come to cry,’ with the Tweet reading: ‘Boris and Nadine running the UK alone’.
One mentioned the pricey and contentious renovation of the Downing Street apartment by designer Lulu Lytle and the prime minister’s wife Carrie Johnson.
Carrie was hastily steaming off the gold wallpaper with an iron and throwing it into an overnight bag, according to the tweet.
Another one depicts a couple bickering in a movie scene. I know you just decorated, but we have to leave, Boris says to “Carrie.” Now!” “I’m not leaving behind the 20th-century Italian red-painted, parcel gold, steel and giltwood four poster bed,” “Carrie” replies. “Hold on…”
Another referenced the Jaws horror movie by showing the optimistic mayor of Amity Island outside Downing Street.
Referencing the moment where the mayor promised the beaches were safe before the killer shark struck again, the tweet read: ‘The Cabinet is open and everyone is having a wonderful time’.
Another mock cited Volodymyr Zelensky, the president of Ukraine, as stating, “The thing is Boris, you have been quite a few times previously.”
It was alluding to Mr. Johnson’s earlier excursions to Kyiv, which had been claimed to have been attempts to deflect attention from domestic criticism of the prime minister at the time.
Another meme parodied Mr. Johnson’s well-known Brexit catchphrase, reading “Get Exit Done” atop a picture of the Prime Minister leaving No. 10.
A fifth said, “Live scenes from Downing Street,” while displaying a drawing of the Titanic in the process of sinking.
Another tweet, this time on the renovation of the Downing Street apartment, included a well-known image of the hasty US evacuation of Saigon during the Vietnam War and read: “Scenes from Number 10 as Carrie Johnson flees with the wallpaper.”
A third person on the subject suggested that the PM may “re-wallpaper” the Downing Street apartment using the resignation letters he had received.
Last night, Mr. Javid announced his resignation in a fiery letter to the prime minister. Mr. Sunak quickly responded with a similar tirade.
In lieu of Mr. Javid, the PM named his chief of staff Steve Barclay as Health Secretary, and Nadhim Zahawi was elevated to the position of Chancellor.
Following the publication of a letter by former senior civil servant Lord McDonald of Salford, critics of the PM’s nomination of suspected groper Chris Pincher to the whips’ office gained further ammo.
In his letter of resignation, Mr. Sunak stated that “we cannot continue like this” and that he was leaving despite knowing that his senior post may be his last in the government.
In his essay, he stated that “the public legitimately expects government to be done professionally, competently, and seriously.”
Today, Mr Zahawi was hit with news of another resignation while he was live on air.
Nadhim Zahawi was in the middle of an interview on the BBC’s flagship Today programme when he was informed that Children’s minister Will Quince had joined the exodus, slamming No10’s ‘inaccurate’ claims about the Chris Pincher allegations.
Asked whether it meant Mr Johnson is ‘over’, a sombre-looking Mr Zahawi responded: ‘I am deeply sorry to see colleagues leave government.’
Schools minister Robin Walker has now joined his former colleague in walking out, saying the government was being ‘overshadowed by mistakes and questions about integrity’.
