Following the publication of the Sue Gray report, the number of Tory MPs openly calling for Johnson to quit has grown, with three new names surfacing on Monday
A vote of no confidence in Boris Johnson is inching closer with a steady stream of letters going into the 1922 committee and momentum growing faster than many had thought.
Following the publication of the Sue Gray report, the number of Tory MPs openly calling for Johnson to quit has grown, with three new names surfacing on Monday and a fourth MP resubmitting a letter of no confidence which had previously been withdrawn.
Monday saw former Attorney General Jeremy Wright call for Johnson to quit, saying that partygate had done ‘lasting damage’ to the Conservative Party. That was followed by Elliot Colburn who also called on Johnson to resign.
The MP for Cities of London and Westminster in 2019, Nickie Aiken, said Johnson should put himself forward for a no confidence vote. Brexiteer Andrew Bridgen also submitted a vote of no confidence in Johnson saying that he believed “during the initial stages of the Russia/Ukraine war that it would be wrong to have a leadership contest”.
He added: “There have, however, been further revelations over the past week and there is obviously and rightly still a lot of anger about the culture in Number 10 during the lockdown period.
“I and colleagues have put in a letter of no confidence over the past few days and it may well be the numbers are close to triggering a vote of no confidence.”
Former cabinet minister and Johnson supporter Andrea Leadsom has now also joined the number of Tory MPs openly criticising Johnson and publicly questioning his leadership.
Should 54 letters be sent to the 1922 committee, that would then trigger a vote of no confidence in Johnson. As it stands, 27 Tory MPs have called for the PM to go as soon as possible, up 12 since the publication of the Sue Gray report. 40 Tory MPs in total are now openly questioning the prime minister’s position.
The latest stream of letters has caused concern in Number 10, with Tory whips discussing how to fight back. The Mirror’s Dan Bloom highlights that when Theresa May hit her own 48-letter threshold back in 2018, 27 Tory MPs had publicly declared no confidence in her before that date.
Basit Mahmood is editor of Left Foot Forward
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