Rishi Sunak This week will celebrate the first 100 days of the downing street, An important milestone for any leader is when judgments about his or her performance in office begin to take shape. It was Conservative MPs – not voters – who appointed him prime minister last October in a desperate attempt to find some calm after the chaos and psychological drama the country has witnessed. Boris Johnson And the earthquake that caused it to disappear Liz Truss. “Boring is back. He said at the time that the new government has the full determination to be as boring as possible.” Michael Gove One of the most influential voices in the Council of Ministers, to be commended.
But politics is fickle. Despite Snake’s efforts to keep a low profile, The anniversary again coincides with one of the group’s most turbulent moments.
Scandal knocks at the door again after that Nadim Al-Zahawi was sacked yesterday from the position of Chairman of the Conservative Party After an investigation by the Independent Ethics Adviser to the Prime Minister it was found that he had breached Ministerial Code in a matter relating to tax matters.
Al-Zahawi has been in the spotlight for several days after he admitted last Monday that during his very short time this summer at the head of the Treasury, he had to pay five million pounds sterling (about 5.6 million euros). Settling a tax bill related to the sale of shares in the polling company he co-founded in 2000, Which today is one of the most important companies in the UK: YouGov.
Part of the shares (42.5%) are held in the name of his father and owned by a company registered in Gibraltar under the name of Balshore Investments. According to the account presented by Al-Zahawi: The HMRC [la Hacienda británica] Before his father was eligible to own shares of the YouGov founders, But he disagreed about how to appoint them. “The final conclusion is that this was negligence and not something intentional,” he added.
However, new research by the Prime Minister’s Independent Ethics Adviser found that: By failing to make public an ongoing HRC investigation by July 2022, it has failed to comply with the requirements of the Ministerial Code to “declare any conflicting interest.”
The big problem is that even if Al-Zahawi had updated his accounts with the treasury, It was clear that he would not pass the public neutrality test. In the midst of a great cost of living crisis and after the government increased taxes, voters became particularly ruthless with scandals over economic issues.
Sunak assured voters earlier this month that the finances of his party chief at the time had been “completely” handled. But as more details emerged, he had to change his tune. And now everything is a huge setback for him.
Instead of giving him time to resign, Yesterday the Downing Street tenant opted for a sudden sack. “I promised that the executive that I run will have integrity, professionalism and responsibility at all levels,” Sunak now points out. However, the controversy now raises big questions about the prime minister’s miscalculation. Why didn’t you act earlier? If Zahawi’s tax affairs have really been on the radar since last summer, Why did Sinak offer him the post of Conservative Party chairman in the fall?
The Labor opposition now sees everything as an opportunity to portray him Conservatives are promiscuous rich kids who constantly have to deal with uncomfortable tax issues. The truth is that the level of wealth sitting around the Cabinet table is unprecedented: ten years ago the collective value of ministers was estimated at £70m; Today it is more than tenfold. The prime minister’s wife’s family is richer than the royal family itself.
The hope for Number 10 is that by acting quickly on Zahawi’s release, Sonak proves that he can make tough decisions when necessary.. But the big problem is that there are too many open fronts.
The watchdog charged with ensuring the integrity of the UK’s public official appointment processes now has another investigation underway to determine whether there was a conflict of interest after it emerged that the former prime minister Boris Johnson will appoint Richard Sharp, a former Goldman Sachs banker, as head of the BBC. who helped him secure an £800,000 loan when he was tenant at No. 10.
On the other hand, another investigation will start in the coming weeks Allegations of bullying against Deputy Prime Minister Dominic Raab. In short, instead of keeping the ‘conservatives’ out of the endless drama, Sunak could finally be dropped due to the heavy load the formation is already piling on. After more than a dozen years in power, there are clear signs of fatigue.
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