ON July 7, UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson finally succumbed to immense political pressure and announced his resignation outside 10 Downing Street.

Aside from John Major, who was comprehensively defeated by Tony Blair’s New Labour in 1997, it is interesting to note that most Tory prime ministers in recent history have suffered a similar fate of betrayal and revolt from within their own party, forcing them to stand down.

This is in stark contrast to Malaysia’s political system, where prime ministers can be unpopular but there are few avenues or little appetite to remove him, even though both countries shared the Westminster model political system.

As bullish and defiant she was, even the great Margaret Thatcher was not able to withstand pressure from her own party when she was forced to resign after losing the confidence of her own cabinet.

David Cameron gambled his entire political career on the Brexit referendum of which the former prime minister ultimately lost.

While there was no political pressure for him to resign, he is ultimately bound by the will of the British public for wanting an exit from the European Union: a policy he could not see himself implementing and follow through if he is in charge.

Finally, Theresa May’s departure from 10 Downing Street was equally disruptive and was largely due to the combination of overseeing a minority government, coupled with a cabinet revolt headed by none other than Johnson himself.

A common criticism of the Westminster model is the fusion of legislative and executive branches, which leads to political power being centralised within the executive.

Most ministers, aside from enjoying executive powers, are also legislators where they also have a decisive say in the legislative branch.

There is a likelihood that Parliament cannot play its designated role of holding the prime minister’s feet to the fire, especially if the prime minister enjoys a huge majority. 

However, there is a proud democratic tradition within the Tory party that ensures the executive is not given a carte blanche to govern, and this is perhaps also why the Westminster model, despite its criticism, is still able to survive and remain popular in the UK.

It is also a tradition that political parties in Malaysia should adopt, to ensure the Westminster system remains relevant.

Malaysians might be surprised to find out that Johnson will be leaving Downing Street even though he still enjoys a parliamentary majority of 73.

What makes the position of Johnson and the past Tory prime ministers ultimately untenable is the revolt of their own cabinet, even though they still retain confidence in the house.

The resignations of Thatcher, May, Johnson and even in some ways Cameron stemmed from having lost the confidence of their own cabinet.

Conservative it may be, but the Tory party is quick to smell an under-performing prime minister that may harm its electoral chances and it moves quickly to ditch them.

Therefore, other than elections and a vote of no-confidence as the traditional route to get rid of the leader of the executive, a Tory prime minister is also checked by MPs.

Johnson should have no complaints about ministers rebelling his premiership because he was among the first cabinet ministers to resign from May’s administration, precipitating her downfall.

It is almost unthinkable in Malaysia’s political system and for a prime minister to resign because of political pressure, when he still commands the confidence of the house.

The trigger to the resignation of former prime minister Muhyiddin Yassin is not because his tenure had become increasingly unpopular, defined by the much criticised double standard lockdown policy.

Rather, his departure was solely because he knew he had lost his parliamentary majority and it would be apparent as soon as the emergency was lifted.

Even though there were two resignations from Umno ministers under the Muhyiddin’s administration, it was only until when Zahid-led Umno withdrew its support that it truly spelled the end of Muhyiddin’s premiership.

The political fate of Johnson was arguably sealed once both his finance and health ministers resigned, despite him still enjoying a healthy parliamentary majority.

The idea of a prime minister being checked by his/her cabinet colleagues is vital for Westminster’s parliamentary democracy, for it affirms the principle that the prime minister is only first among equals and not first without equals.

Also, the absence of it renders the prime minister almost unchallengeable in the arms of the executive branch under the Westminster system.

It is also an idea that Pakatan Harapan fails to grasp that has ultimately led to it abandoning its progressive policy and thus its supporters desert the cause.

The alarm bells should have been ringing at the doorsteps when Dr Mahathir Mohamad was telling everyone that the PH manifesto was merely a guide, and yet there were no complaints or resignation but total acquiescence.

When Yeo Bee Yin was found to be contradicting the prime minister with regards to Lynas’s licence renewal, she should have resigned out of principle rather than breaching the cabinet collective responsibility to make a strong point to Dr Mahathir that you can’t have your way even if you are prime minister.

The appalling use of the Security Offences (Special Measures) Act 2012 against a DAP member under Dr Mahathir should have led to a DAP cabinet revolt to make a stand against Dr Mahathir and Muhyiddin’s self-serving agenda at that time, while defending the promise of abolishing Sosma, as stated in the PH manifesto.

Cabinet colleagues willing to speak up and not blindly put up with a prime minister is the reason why he or she will always remain accountable to the public, parliament and the executive.

It is a principle that has caused both the rise and fall of Johnson, and a principle that PH politicians must learn to practise if they intend to limit the power of the prime minister.

Afterall, the PH manifesto wanted a fully functional cabinet with no yes-men.

Meanwhile, a cabinet minister willing to resign in protest of an unpopular prime minister is certainly anything, but never a yes-man. – July 10, 2022.

* Kenneth Cheng has always been interested in the interplay between human rights and government but more importantly he is a father of two cats, Tangyuan and Toufu. When he is not attending to his feline matters, he is most likely reading books about politics and human rights or playing video games. He is a firm believer in the dictum “power concedes nothing without a demand. It never did and it never will”.

* This is the opinion of the writer or publication and does not necessarily represent the views of The Malaysian Insight. Article may be edited for brevity and clarity.