Former Health Minister Sajid Javid made an emotional personal statement in the House of Commons on Wednesday, explaining: the reasons behind his departure.
Referring to the series of scandals who have shocked the government, he said “the reset button can only work so many times”.
In a stab at Boris Johnson’s leadership, he said that “a team is only as good as its team captain, and a captain is only as good as his or her team”.
“I am very concerned about how the next generation will see the Conservative Party on our current course,” he said.
Read the full statement below:
Mr Chairman, I am grateful for your permission to make this statement.
Yesterday we started our day together. You, I, my RHF the Prime Minister, and colleagues from all over this House broke bread together during the parliamentary prayer breakfast.
And listened to the words of Reverend Les Issac, who spoke of the responsibility that comes with leadership – the responsibility to serve the interests of others above your own and to pursue the common good of your party, your community and most importantly your country. .
Colleagues will be forgiven for sharing my sense of déja vu.
Despite what it may seem, I have never been one of life’s quitters.
I didn’t stop when I was told guys like me didn’t do math. I didn’t stop when old bankers said I didn’t have the right school ties. I didn’t stop when people in my community told me I couldn’t marry the love of my life.
I care deeply about public service and giving back to the country that has given me so much.
That’s why when I got that call from the Prime Minister to come back into government a little over a year ago, I didn’t hesitate.
It was a critical time for our country. Tough decisions had to be made to get out of the lockdown and to support a National Health Service and healthcare sector under unprecedented pressure.
It has been an absolute privilege to have been given these responsibilities and I can only hope that my best has been good enough.
It has undoubtedly been my most difficult role to date.
The seriousness of the decisions of the Ministry of the Interior, the extent of the decisions of the Treasury. But nothing is more important than the health of our people – especially during and in the aftermath of a pandemic.
So I want to take this opportunity to pay tribute to everyone who works in the health and care sector, as well as those I have worked closely with in DHSC and the NHS.
I had planned so much for the long-term reform of our health and care systems. It’s a wrench to put that important work behind you.
When I last made a personal statement from this chair, I spoke about the importance of institutions and conventions.
Today it’s about the importance of integrity… don’t worry, I don’t plan on making this a series!
Institutions and integrity are both central pillars that underlie our great democracy. It doesn’t matter what your political perspectives come into this House.
I believe that we are all motivated by the national interest and that the public expects all of us to maintain honesty and integrity in what we do.
This is not an abstract matter. We have seen in great democracies what happens when divisions are entrenched, not bridged.
We can’t let that happen here – we need to bring the country together as one nation.
Effective governance inevitably requires loyalty and collective responsibility. I am instinctively a team player and have been fully focused on governing effectively for the past year.
But treading the tightrope between loyalty and integrity has become impossible in recent months. And Mr. Chairman, I will never risk losing my integrity.
I also believe that a team is only as good as its team captain, and that a captain is only as good as his or her team. Loyalty has to come from both sides.
The events of the past few months have made it increasingly difficult to be on that team.
It is not fair to my ministerial colleagues to go out every morning to defend lines that will not hold or will not hold.
It is not fair to my parliamentary colleagues who bear the brunt of voters’ dismay in their inboxes and on the doorsteps of recent elections.
And it’s not fair to conservative members and voters who rightly expect better standards from the party they’ve supported.
At the end of last year when the first stories of parties in Downing Street emerged, I was assured at the highest level of my RHF team at the time that “there had been no parties in Downing Street and no rules had been broken”.
So I gave the benefit of the doubt and went to those media rounds to say I had those assurances.
Then we got more and more stories. The Sue Gray Report. A new Downing Street team. I continued to give the benefit of the doubt.
And now this week we have yet another reason to question the truth and integrity of what we have been told.
At some point we have to conclude that enough is enough. I believe that point is now.
I welcome the Prime Minister’s public admission last night that things could have been handled better in who he appointed and what was said about what he knew when.
And I appreciated his kind words and humble spirit when I went to see him yesterday, and also in his letter to me.
But I’m afraid the reset button can only work so many times.
You can only cycle the machine off and on again so many times before you realize something is fundamentally wrong.
Last month I gave the benefit of the doubt one last time. But I’ve come to the conclusion that the problem starts at the top; that it’s not going to change; and that those of us who are able to do so have a responsibility to change something.
I wish my colleagues who have decided to remain in this cabinet every success. They will all have their own reasons. But it is a choice. I know how difficult this choice is.
But let’s be clear. Not doing something is an active decision.
I am very concerned about how the next generation will see the Conservative Party on our current course.
Our reputation, after twelve years in government, depends on regaining the trust of the people.
This is not just a personal matter. The philosophy and perception of conservatives depends on it.
It is central to the conservative ideal that we believe in decency, personal responsibility and social justice, enabled by convention and the rule of law.
The conservative mission to extend freedom, prosperity and opportunity for all will be jeopardized if we fail to maintain that ideal.
And Mr Chairman, the Conservative Party is not the only major institution in urgent need of repair.
Like everyone else in this House, I am stunned by the drop-by-drop stories of harassment and worse by members of this House.
So I am also concerned about how the next generation will see this Parliament and the health of our democracy.
In recent years, confidence in our role has been undermined by a series of scandals. But the only thing we can control is our own values and behavior.
It is the duty of all of us to set high standards for ourselves and to take action when others fail to meet them.
I am grateful for the messages of support I have received from many members of this House and beyond.
I entered politics to do something, not to be someone. So it’s hard one way, but not the other.
Being a good father, husband, son and citizen is good enough for me. And if I can continue to contribute to public life and my party from the back seats, it will be a privilege to do so.