LONDON, (Reuters) – British minister Andrew Mitchell resigned yesterday after failing to shake off accusations he called police “plebs”, an insult laden with snobbery that fuelled perceptions Prime Minister David Cameron’s government is out of touch with voters.
Mitchell, the “Chief Whip” responsible for keeping discipline among lawmakers in Cameron’s Conservative Party, denied using the offending word but admitted swearing at officers after being told to get off his bicycle as he left Downing Street last month.
“Over the last two days it has become clear to me that whatever the rights and wrongs of the matter I will not be able to fulfil my duties as we would both wish,” he said in a resignation letter to Cameron.
Cameron, educated at the elite Eton private school, has struggled to shake off the impression that he and other senior members of his party come from a rich, privileged background far removed from the electorate, and the accusations against former investment banker Mitchell have proved highly damaging.
With the Conservative Party behind in opinion polls, and an ailing economy struggling to recover from recession, the storm around Mitchell reinforced an image of a government divorced from Britons hit by budget-crunching austerity measures.
Mitchell’s confrontation at security gates outside Cameron’s office came just days after two unarmed female police officers were shot dead in the northern city of Manchester, adding to public disquiet at his reported behaviour.
Police representatives, already upset with the government over cuts to force budgets and changes to their working conditions, had demanded Mitchell quit, saying his disagreement over what had been said was an insult to all officers.
George Young, a veteran Conservative lawmaker who also attended Eton, was named as the new chief whip.
