IT’S quite an achievement to lose three Cabinet jobs under three different prime ministers. But not in a good way.
It was clear to anyone inside or outwith Westminster that it was only a matter of time before Sir Gavin Williamson was defenestrated. When a minister creates bad headlines day in and day out, there is only one way things can end.
While, officially, the South Staffordshire MP resigned, one can imagine in his private fireside chat with Rishi Sunak on Tuesday night he knew that if he didn’t jump he would be pushed given the damage being done.
What is curious is why Sunak, a slick operator, appointed him in the first place given his reputation for being a bully; something Williamson honed while Chief Whip in the May administration.
Rated and mocked in equal measure, he was known for keeping a pet tarantula in a glass box on his desk, supposedly to scare errant MPs. The ridiculousness of it enabled Keir Starmer at PMQs to tell Sunak: “If he can’t stand up to a cartoon bully with a pet spider, how can he stand up for the country?”
READ MORE: Sir Gavin Williamson resigns after bullying allegations
The PM, having on Tuesday night expressed “great sadness” at losing his chum, by this lunchtime his tone had changed, admitting he “regretted” ever having brought him back into Cabinet.
While Sunak said he knew of the bullying allegations against Williamson, he was adamant he did not know the details.
But the momentum against the Staffordshire MP intensified after Wendy Morton, the ex-Chief Whip, received his expletive-laden texts, complaining about being refused an invitation to the Queen’s funeral.
Then he faced claims he told an MoD official to “slit your throat” while a Tory colleague alleged “unethical and immoral” behaviour while he was Chief Whip.
Having been sacked as Defence Secretary by Theresa May in May 2019 after she was told of “compelling evidence” he had leaked confidential National Security Council information – which he denied vigorously – Williamson helped Boris Johnson in his campaign to become Tory leader and PM.
His reward was to be reappointed to the Cabinet as England’s Education Secretary but school rows during the pandemic led to him being sacked in a Cabinet reshuffle last September. Johnson rewarded his colleague’s previous loyalty with a knighthood.
However, as before, Williamson’s role in supporting a leadership candidate paid off as Sunak’s bid eventually saw the ex-Chancellor enter Number 10. The Staffordshire MP was reappointed for a third time as Cabinet Office Minister, a role which lasted just 15 days.
Suspicions abound that, knowing where the political bodies are buried, Williamson’s little black book may even contain an entry on Sunak himself. But we may never know.
The Williamson saga gives Labour a large stick with which to beat the Tory leader on the particular issue of poor judgement and weak leadership, which, of course, it repeatedly clobbered Johnson with.
In a powerful uppercut, Starmer told Sunak: “What message does he think it sends when, rather than take on the bullies, he lines up alongside and thanks them for their loyalty?”
Going forward, the problem for the PM is the knives are still out for Suella Braverman over the ongoing row over illegal immigrants.
And the Williamson Show isn’t over, given Parliament’s Independent Complaints and Grievance Scheme is looking into complaints about his behaviour.
The PM has, thus far, gone out of his way to support Braverman; which, of course, he did with Williamson. Having lost one Cabinet colleague in such a short space of time after entering Downing St, Sunak will be loath to lose another more high-profile one.
Yet the PM’s jeopardy is that the harder he tries to keep his Home Secretary, the more he will go out on a limb for her and, therefore, the greater the consequent danger and damage if, some day, he has to jettison her too.
Why are you making commenting on The Herald only available to subscribers?
It should have been a safe space for informed debate, somewhere for readers to discuss issues around the biggest stories of the day, but all too often the below the line comments on most websites have become bogged down by off-topic discussions and abuse.
heraldscotland.com is tackling this problem by allowing only subscribers to comment.
We are doing this to improve the experience for our loyal readers and we believe it will reduce the ability of trolls and troublemakers, who occasionally find their way onto our site, to abuse our journalists and readers. We also hope it will help the comments section fulfil its promise as a part of Scotland's conversation with itself.
We are lucky at The Herald. We are read by an informed, educated readership who can add their knowledge and insights to our stories.
That is invaluable.
We are making the subscriber-only change to support our valued readers, who tell us they don't want the site cluttered up with irrelevant comments, untruths and abuse.
In the past, the journalist’s job was to collect and distribute information to the audience. Technology means that readers can shape a discussion. We look forward to hearing from you on heraldscotland.com
Comments & Moderation
Readers’ comments: You are personally liable for the content of any comments you upload to this website, so please act responsibly. We do not pre-moderate or monitor readers’ comments appearing on our websites, but we do post-moderate in response to complaints we receive or otherwise when a potential problem comes to our attention. You can make a complaint by using the ‘report this post’ link . We may then apply our discretion under the user terms to amend or delete comments.
Post moderation is undertaken full-time 9am-6pm on weekdays, and on a part-time basis outwith those hours.
Read the rules hereLast Updated:
Report this comment Cancel