- British Prime Minister Boris Johnson will face severe questions in Parliament.
- He was criticized for his work as a paid consultant.
- Both Johnson and the Conservative Party fell in the polls.
On Wednesday, British Prime Minister Boris Johnson faced parliamentary questioning over scandals within the Conservative Party and lack of leadership at the COP26 climate summit.
Johnson will accept an inventory of government policies by the head of the parliamentary cross-party special committee at 15:00 GMT, which is usually held three times a year, which may make the criticized leaders feel uneasy.
This meeting is Johnson’s sixth meeting since he became prime minister in mid-2019. It coincides with the behavior of members of Congress (mainly from his own ruling Conservative Party), potential conflicts of interest, and the crisis of a lucrative second job is brewing Among.
On the eve of his court appearance, Johnson tried to stand up and write to the Speaker, stating that he would support the proposal to prohibit British legislators from serving as paid political advisers and advisers.
He wrote:
We must ensure that the rules that apply to members of Congress are up-to-date, effective, and appropriately strict, so that the reputation of the House of Commons is beyond doubt.
The move comes as the main opposition Labour Party prepares to vote on Wednesday to ban members of Congress from holding such positions and as directors. Its leader, Keir Starmer, said it forced Johnson to step down.
High-paying second job
British legislators are allowed to assume external roles as long as they declare them, but they are not allowed to use their parliamentary offices or resources for such work.
Paid lobbying is also prohibited, and the parliamentary standards monitoring agency investigates allegations of misconduct.
The current scandals have sprung up this month, when Johnson tried to reform the way the regulatory system works, but failed, after Congressman Owen Paterson was suspended for lobbying the ministers of the two companies.
Soon there were many other high-paying second jobs for members of Congress, especially lawyers and former Attorney General Jeffrey Cox.
He was accused of using his parliamentary office to engage in external legal work. Since becoming a member of parliament in 2005, in addition to his annual salary of parliamentarians (currently approximately £82,000), he has also netted more than £6 million (US$8 million) ).
Patterson has resigned from Parliament, and Cox denies breaking the rules.
In recent polls, the approval ratings of Johnson and the Conservative Party are declining.
The question session on Wednesday will also allow Johnson to ask questions about the COP26 climate summit held in Glasgow by the United Kingdom, which ended last weekend and nearly 200 countries signed an agreement to try to prevent runaway global warming.
Painful negotiation
However, two weeks of painful negotiations-and two personal visits by the British leader-failed to get what scientists say is needed to contain the rise in danger.
Opposition lawmakers accused Johnson of not taking the summit seriously enough because it took less than a full day to return after the first gathering of world leaders that started.
After several high-profile cases that shocked the country and sparked outcry, senior members of Congress will also question him about the government’s efforts to deal with violence against women and girls.
The British leader had previously proved unwilling to face the supervisory committee, declined invitations several times in 2019, and only appeared for the first time nearly a year after taking office.
The last time the expert group questioned him was in July.
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