in

Boris Johnson news – live: PM told to quit if fined by police and keep out of Cressida Dick successor search

Boris Johnson receives legal questionnaire over partygate from police

Tory MPs are warning that Boris Johnson must not fight to stay on as prime minister if he is fined by police over Downing Street parties.

The news comes after exclusive polling for The Independent showed the Conservatives face a brutal backlash from voters – a record 75 per cent think Johnson should go if he is found guilty of breaking Covid rules.

Veteran Conservative MP Sir Roger Gale said there would be “public outcry” if the prime minister gets fined and tries to keep his job.

“We are not talking about a parking ticket or something like that,” he told The Independent.

“His position, if it is not already untenable, will become completely untenable if he faces any kind of police sanction.”

Meanwhile former leader of the Metropolitan Police Lord Blair has called for the PM to recuse himself from involvement in picking Cressida Dick’s successor while under investigation for possible Covid rule breaches.

The beleaguered boss of the Met resigned on Thursday after losing the backing of London Mayor Sadiq Khan.

1644677198

Tory voters favour Rishi Sunak as Johnson replacement

Chancellor Rishi Sunak is the favoured candidate to replace Boris Johnson among voters, according to The Independent’s exclusive polling.

The chancellor is the top choice among Tory supporters and the electorate at large, with 29 per cent of voters and 43 per cent of Conservatives saying they would be more likely to back the party with him at the helm.

Some distance behind the chancellor were health secretary Sajid Javid, followed by former leadership contender Jeremy Hunt and foreign secretary Liz Truss, according to the Savanta ComRes survey.

Laurie Churchman12 February 2022 14:46
1644675638

Voters say levelling up will make no difference to their lives

Almost half (46 per cent) of voters said it will make no difference to their living standards, while 23 per cent said it will worsen them.

Just 23 per cent of the 2,232 voters taking part in the Savanta ComRes survey think it will make things better.

Laurie Churchman12 February 2022 14:20
1644673538

Voters cite Partygate and ‘dishonesty’ as reasons Boris Johnson should quit

Among those who want the PM to resign in The Independent’s exclusive polling, Partygate was the most-cited reason.

This reason was followed by the PM’s perceived dishonesty (79 per cent) and his personal behaviour (77 per cent).

For Conservative supporters who want him out, Mr Johnson’s lies were seen as a stronger justification for his removal than the lockdown breaches.

You can read Andrew Woodcock’s full story here.

Laurie Churchman12 February 2022 13:45
1644672398

Will the prime minister listen to his new spin doctor?

“The opening banter between Boris Johnson and his new press secretary, Guto Harri, was of such quality it might have been scripted by Armando Iannucci or Ricky Gervais,” writes Sean O’Grady.

He says the PM’s new spin doctor knows Johnson well enough to tell him some home truths.

But will the prime minister listen?

You can read the full story below.

Laurie Churchman12 February 2022 13:26
1644670718

Almost a third of Conservative voters want PM to quit now

Almost a third of Conservative voters want Boris Johnson to quit now, according to exclusive polling for The Independent.

But 30 per cent of Conservative supporters want him to go only if he is found to have broken Covid rules – while 31 per cent are happy for him to remain in office even if he is fined.

This means a majority of Tory voters are willing to see the PM stay on if he is cleared of breaking the rules.

You can read Andrew Woodcock’s full story here.

Laurie Churchman12 February 2022 12:58
1644669638

Polling: 75 per cent of voters think PM should go if found guilty of Covid rule-breaking

Exclusive polling for The Independent shows 75 per cent of voters think Boris Johnson should go if he is found guilty of breaking Covid rules.

The Savanta ComRes survey showed just 16 per cent think the MP should stay if he is found guilty of breaches in investigations by the Metropolitan Police and civil servant Sue Gray.

Today’s poll of 2,232 voters also found 49 per cent believe Mr Johnson should resign no matter what the result.

Laurie Churchman12 February 2022 12:40
1644668243

Tory MP: ‘Public outcry’ if PM stays on after getting fined

Veteran Conservative MP Sir Roger Gale has said there would be “public outcry” if the prime minister gets fined over Covid lockdown breaches and tries to keep his job.

“We are not talking about a parking ticket or something like that,” he told The Independent.

“His position, if it is not already untenable, will become completely untenable if he faces any kind of police sanction.”

You can read Andrew Woodcock’s full story here.

Laurie Churchman12 February 2022 12:17
1644666818

Tory MPs warn Boris Johnson must not fight to keep job if fined by police

Tory MPs are warning that Boris Johnson must not fight to stay prime minister if he is fined by police over Downing Street parties.

The news comes after exclusive polling for The Independent showed the party risks a brutal backlash from voters, with a record 75 per cent thinking Johnson should go if he is found guilty of breaking the rules.

Laurie Churchman12 February 2022 11:53
1644666186

ICYMI: Tory MP Andrew Bridgen under investigation over alleged paid lobbying

Conservative MP Andrew Bridgen is being investigated by parliament’s standards watchdog over claims of paid lobbying and failing to properly declare interests.

The investigation into the backbencher comes after a report in The Times alleged he lobbied government minister Andrew Stephenson to help with a timber firm’s tax affairs.

Mere Plantations donated £5,000 to the North West Leicestershire MP’s local Tory association following a call to the then-Foreign Office minister in 2019.

Here’s the full story.

Laurie Churchman12 February 2022 11:43
1644664844

Little chance of progress over protocol before elections, DUP leader warns

The chances of problems with the Northern Ireland Protocol being resolved before Stormont Assembly elections in May are “quite small”, DUP leader Sir Jeffrey Donaldson has said.

Sir Jeffrey said there was “very little progress” in ongoing discussions between the UK Government and the EU.

European Commission vice-president Maros Sefcovic and Foreign Secretary Liz Truss met in London on Friday as part of their attempt to break the deadlock over the protocol and committed to intensive discussions.

But the DUP leader told BBC Radio 4’s Today programme: “There is very little progress in the talks, as we saw yesterday.

“That was confirmed to me by the Prime Minister.

“He doesn’t expect, unless something changes dramatically, that agreement will be reached this side of an election to remove the Irish Sea border.”

You can read the full story below.

Laurie Churchman12 February 2022 11:20


Source: UK Politics - www.independent.co.uk


Tagcloud:

Russia tensions reveal threat to UK food supplies, farming chief warns

Boris Johnson ‘should recuse himself from choice of new police chief’