“If nothing changes, if Boris goes and this [party] constitution remains the same, I’m not interested.”
One of the Conservative Party’s biggest donors, Peter Cruddas, has demanded that the party change its leadership rules to prevent another Boris Johnson-style ousting, warning that he will withdraw his support if it doesn’t happen.
Lord Cruddas, who has given the Tories more than £3 million, said the way in which Johnson had been “constructively dismissed” was “corrupt” and “wrong”.
He told the Tortoise podcast: “If nothing changes, if Boris goes and this [party] constitution remains the same, I’m not interested.”
Cruddas said that what had happened to Johnson was a ‘catalyst’ for him to say ‘enough’. Clearly Johnson’s law breaking, lies and contempt for the rules doesn’t matter to him.
It ought to be remembered that Johnson gave a peerage to Cruddas in defiance of advice from the Lords Appointments Commission. Cruddas had been a former Conservative Party Co-Treasurer.
After Johnson’s resignation, Cruddas has also led a campaign to secure thousands of signatures from Tory party members who demanded a ballot on whether to accept Johnson’s resignation.
Cruddas is also unhappy that under the current rules of the Tory party, 54 MPs can trigger a vote of confidence that requires a simple majority to remove a sitting prime minister, saying it was wrong for a small group of MPs to dictate what was best for the country.
He doesn’t however mind an incredibly small proportion of the population, the Tory party membership of around 160,000 members, which is wholly unrepresentative of the country as a whole, deciding the future of the country.
Basit Mahmood is editor of Left Foot Forward
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