'The Prime Minister constantly tries to deflect from the issue, always tries to blame other people for mistakes, and that leaves nothing left for him to do other than to take responsibility and resign'

The government remains on the rocks following a string of resignations from the frontbench in the wake of sexual misconduct allegations against the former deputy chief whip Christopher Pincher. More than a dozen Tory frontbenchers have now resigned – including Rishi Sunak and Sajid Javid.

The chaos at the heart of Downing Street dominated Prime Minister’s Questions this afternoon, with MPs from across the House calling for Boris Johnson to resign.

Gary Sambrook – Tory MP for Birmingham’s most marginal constituency, Birmingham Northfield – called for Johnson to go. He said, “Yesterday in an attempt to boost morale in the team room, the Prime Minister said at a table that there were seven people – MPs – in the Carlton Club last week and one of them should have tried to intervene to stop Chris from drinking so much. As if that wasn’t insulting enough to the people who did try and intervene that night and then also to the victims – that drink was the problem. Isn’t it an example, Mr Speaker, that the Prime Minister constantly tries to deflect from the issue, always tries to blame other people for mistakes, and that leaves nothing left for him to do other than to take responsibility and resign?”

Sambrook’s contribution was met with applause from the opposition benches – a rare occurrence given the convention that MPs do not clap speakers in the House of Commons.

Tory MP Tim Loughton also raised the prospect of Johnson resigning. Although he stopped short of demanding Johnson’s head in the Commons, he made his position clear. He asked, “Does the Prime Minister think there are any circumstances in which he should resign?” He has previously told GB News that “the game is up” for Boris Johnson.

Former Brexit Secretary David Davis – who called for Johnson to go in January following the revelations surrounding partygate – echoed his previous call. He said of Johnson, “Today I ask him to do the honourable thing, to put the interests of the nation before his own interests, and before – in his own words – it does become impossible for government to do its job”.

Unsurprisingly, the leader of the opposition Sir Keir Starmer also focused all six of his designated questions to the ongoing saga.

Starmer drew connections between the Pincher scandal and the raft of other crises that have hit the government with Boris Johnson at the helm. He said of Johnson, “Doesn’t that just sum him up? Awful behaviour, unacceptable in any walk of life, it’s there for all to see, but he ignores it. It was the same when his ally was on the take from the lobbyists. It was the same when his Home Secretary was bullying staff. It was the same when taxpayers’ money was being abused. And it was the same when he and his mates partied their way through lockdown.”

Starmer went on to accuse the ministers who stayed in office throughout those scandals and who only resigned in the last 24 hours of not having “a shred of dignity. He said, “Anyone quitting now after defending all that hasn’t got a shred of integrity. Mr Speaker, isn’t this the first recorded case of the sinking ships fleeing the rat?” Starmer added on a later question that Johnson is, “only in power because he’s been propped up for months by a corrupted party defending the indefensible.”

Many other MPs raised the issues relating to the Pincher scandal at PMQs. SNP leader in the House of Commons Ian Blackford called for Johnson’s resignation. He said, “The Prime Minister is desperately clinging on to his own fantasy. But the public can’t afford to put up with this farce of a government a minute longer. Today, we should be talking about the Tory cost of living crisis, soaring inflation and the growing cost of Brexit. But instead, it’s always about him. How many more ministers need to quit before he finally picks up his pen and writes his own resignation letter?”

Chris Jarvis is head of strategy and development at Left Foot Forward

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