Rishi Sunak must resign now rather than wait to be forced out of office - Yorkshire Post Letters

It used to be that if a PM’s position became untenable they would resign. That is no longer the case. Now a PM will hang on and hang on, every day more desperate than the last, until finally they are forced out of office.

Sunak has reached that point. Every day brings a new scandal. Today’s is that his Climate Change Minister, Graham Stuart, has reneged on his duty of leadership and is leaving COP28 at the most critical point in the Conference.

Instead of fleeing Dubai, Stuart should remain to broker the challenges involved in acting upon developing countries’ urgent demands to deliver a full fossil fuel phase-out.

He should be making clear that the UK, as a rich historically polluting country, is prepared to lead the way on delivering the renewable transition away from fossil fuels. The Conservative government’s failure to lead at Cop28 is becoming increasingly obvious.

Presumably he is leaving so he can vote in favour of the utterly nonsensical Rwanda Bill today (December 12). It is perfectly clear from this that Sunak prioritises his own political future over the future of humanity.

The fact that Stuart will be keeping in touch remotely with Junior Minister Lord Benyon and the Chief Negotiator does not mitigate the betrayal.

Francesca Rhodes, of Care International UK, said: “These negotiations will decide the fate of millions of people facing floods, fires and famine due to the climate crisis. The UK has played a productive role in the talks so far but leaving early is simply shameful.”

The Rwanda Bill and dereliction of duty at COP28 in one day - that’s just taking the mickey. Sunak has no credibility left. Resign today.