DCMS Minister Steps Downs, Gambling Act White Paper Still Not Published

UK’s DCMS minister for tech and digital, Chris Philp, has decided to voice out his protest against PM Boris Johnson and becomes the latest Conservative Member of Parliament (MP) to hand out his resignation. Philp was in charge of overseeing the review of the UK’s Gambling Act. 

The Gambling Industry in the Country Might Suffer Certain Consequences 

While speaking about the decision to resign, Philp stated that he’s deeply saddened, but noted that he believes that PM Johnson should step down due to the fact that both the confidence of the Parliament and the public “has clearly gone.” 

Philp’s resignation letter stated that the review of the Gambling Act of 2005 is now in the PM’s office and it contains measures that will battle gambling addiction in a much more effective way. All the PM has to do is approve it. 

The resignation of Philp may prove to be an issue for the gambling industry in the UK as it may lead to yet another delay in the publication of the Gambling Act review. This is something that the government cannot withstand too much as it has been under scrutiny by the public for a long time for failing to live up to the expectations and complete the process in time. 

At the end of March 2022, UK’s parliamentary undersecretary for digital, culture, media, and sport, Nigel Huddleston, stated that the white paper is almost finished and the review would be published soon. Even though it was scheduled for it to be released during spring, it suffered yet another postponement and there’s no date as to when it will be published. 

A Colleague of Philp Believes That the Conservative Party Won’t Back Boris Johnson

So far, more than 50 people have resigned from the Conservative Party and the government as a way to force the PM to leave office. However, Johnson told the Parliament on Wednesday that he does not intend on leaving. 

Gavin Barwell, an ex-MP and a colleague of Philp, tweeted that there’s no chance that the Conservative Party will unite and stand behind Johnson. He added that the Conservative Party and the voters have reached a point in which they “have lost confidence.” That is why he noted that the sooner Johnson’s loyal supporters realize this, the better. 

In a separate tweet, Barwell noted that it is highly unlikely that Johnson will survive, but if he manages to remain in office, the government will lose “some of its best members” as many of them are highly likely to resign. 

In the meantime, there’s heavy speculation that Johnson may just order a cabinet reshuffle.