UK Politics

More than half of a panel of Conservative Party members believe Tory MPs should remove Boris Johnson as leader, according to a new survey.The finding, published by the Conservative Home website, will raise the alarm in No 10 as it deals with the fallout from the no-confidence vote in the prime minister.The survey of 1,058 Tory activists showed that 55 per cent thought MPs should vote to remove Mr Johnson, while 41 per cent were opposed to his removal.A previous survey for the site gave the prime minister a 93 per cent approval rating in the wake of his resounding victory in the December 2019 general election.Meawhile, a snap poll by YouGov also found deep anger over the Partygate scandal, with 42 per cent of Tory members saying that MPs should vote against Mr Johnson, ousting him from Downing Street. However, more than half (53 per cent) were opposed to the move.The poll of 506 party members also found that half believed MPs were right to submit letters of no confidence to the chair of the 1922 Committee, Sir Graham Brady.Among voters as a whole, Labour has enjoyed a small but steady lead over the Conservatives in opinion polls during the past six months.The size of the lead has varied, from an average of just three points to as many as 11 points.Sir Keir Starmer’s party first moved ahead in the polls in early December 2021, around the time stories first began to emerge of Downing Street parties during Covid-19 lockdowns.Before this point, Labour had spent most of the previous few years trailing well behind the government.Based on a seven-day rolling average of all national published polls, Labour’s vote share stood at 40 per cent on 6 June, ahead of the Conservatives on 32 per cent, with the Liberal Democrats on 12 per cent and the Greens on 6 per cent.Exactly a year ago, on 6 June 2021, the Conservatives were averaging 45 per cent, Labour 33 per cent, and the Lib Dems and Greens 7 per cent each. More

A Tory MP who has been accused of rape will be allowed to take part in Boris Johnson’s no-confidence vote.It was revealed last month that an unnamed male politician, in his 50s, had been arrested on suspicion of rape and sexual assault and released on bail.Tory chief whip Chris Heaton-Harris told the MP to stay away from Parliament but he was not suspended by the Conservative Party.Despite the allegations levelled against the MP, he will be allowed to vote through a proxy, if he wishes, because he is not allowed to come onto the Westminster estate.However, Tory MPs without the whip – which means they are not a current member of the parliamentary party – such as Rob Roberts and Daniel Warburton will not be able to vote.Labour MP Jess Phillips tweeted: “So current Tory MP accused of rape can vote by proxy, because whip hasn’t been lost. Just the sort you want to have confidence in you. Beggars can’t be choosers I guess.” More

Boris Johnson has offered tax cuts to his own MPs as he fights for his political life and told those challenging him over partygate “I’d do it again”. The prime minister held out the prospect of future changes as he addressed Tory MPs in Westminster just hours before they cast their judgement on his leadership of their party and the country.Following criticism he has lost the trust of the public over the partygate scandal, Mr Johnson promised his own MPs “I will lead you to victory again.” But in comments likely to infuriate rebels who have criticised his leadership he warned the party not to descend into a “pointless fratricidal debate”. In his speech he told MPs that the way forward was to “cut taxes”. A senior party source said: “He did not promise a specific tax cut, but the chancellor and him will lay out a plan for growth next week.” Johnson loyalist Jacob Rees-Mogg said that the prime minister had set out “what he’s going to do, how you deal with cost of living crisis, how you make the economy grow, but we need tax cuts to invigorate the economy, we need productivity gains.” Mr Johnson had a “clear message, a clear vision,” he added. Tory backbenchers have demanded the government introduce tax cuts to help millions struggling with the cost of living. But one of those, Wycombe MP Steve Baker, indicated that despite the pledge he still intended to vote against Mr Johnson. Following the speech, five MPs were invited to ask the questions, three of whom were supportive and two critical.Mr Johnson was challenged over the removal of references to the principle of integrity in his recent foreword to the ministerial code of conduct, but told MPs that it remained in the text of the code. Challenged over his handling of the Partygate allegations, one MP said he replied: “I’d do it again.” A government source said that Mr Johnson had been very specific when he said he would do it again, that “he would thank staff for their hard work when they left his employment.”Mr Johnson also told the 1922 Committee that the Tories should “refuse to gratify our opponents by turning in on ourselves’’.A senior party source said the Prime Minister received a big cheer when he said they should not “dance to the tune of the media’’.One critic of the prime minister told The Independent that the mood in the meeting appeared generally supportive, but added: “It’s difficult to know how much that means. People will thump tables and applaud and cheer and then go out and vote against him.” More

Boris Johnson is facing a no-confidence vote this evening after Sir Graham Brady, chair of the 1922 Committee, announced the threshold of 54 letters had been reached to trigger the vote.The vote, which takes place in the wake of the Partygate scandal and Sue Gray report, will take place between 6pm and 8pm, with the results expected around 9pm.Earlier on Monday, John Penrose, the prime minister’s anti-corruption champion resigned.Announcing his decision by letter to the prime minister Mr Penrose said the Sue Gray report had revealed the PM had broken “a fundamdental principle of the ministerial code”.“I’m afraid it wouldn’t be honourable or right for me to remain as your anti-corruption champion after reaching this conclusion nor for you to remain as prime minister.“I hope you will now stand aside so we can look to the future and choose your successor.”We want to know who you think that successor should be if Johnson is voted out or decides to step down. According to Betfair Exchange, former health secretary Jeremy Hunt is the favourite to become next Tory leader. Other names in the mix include Jeremy Hunt, Liz Truss, Tom Tugendhat, Penny Mordaunt, Rishi Sunak, Ben Wallace, Nadhim Zahawi and Sajid Javid.Scroll down and vote in our reader poll. Then check back for the results.If you selected ‘other’, ‘don’t know’ or ‘don’t care’, let us know in the comments why. More

Allies of Boris Johnson have risked infuriating Conservatives MPs by claiming the party would be “comically ungovernable” under another leader. Supporters of the prime minister also hit out at Tory MPs who triggered a vote of no confidence in Mr Johnson, accusing them of lacking a plan to replace him.The prime minister is due to give a speech to Conservative backbenchers shortly as he fights for his political survival.Mr Johnson will address a meeting of the powerful 1922 committee in Westminster, two hours before MPs start voting on his future.Former Tory leadership candidate Jeremy Hunt has become the latest MP to say he should go over the partygate scandal.As the calls mounted today, John Penrose, the prime minister’s anti-corruption champion, resigned and announced he would vote against Mr Johnson, claiming the Tory leader had broke the ministerial code over Partygate.Many Tory MPs warn the party cannot continue with Mr Johnson as leader, arguing he has lost the trust of the British public following the revelations that a host of parties were held in Downing Street while the rest of the country was under Covid restrictions.But allies of the prime minister argue he is still the best person to lead and unite the party.One said: “I fear that what would happen is that the party would become comically ungovernable [without Mr Johnson].” Another hit out at rebels they said were trying to oust the prime minister without a plan for who would replace him.“They want to try to knit the parachute on the way down… that just doesn’t work,” they said. They rejected the idea that the party had been in a similar situation four years ago when MPs held a confidence vote in then-prime minister Theresa May. That had been a very different prospect, they said. “When Theresa May left everyone knew we would get Boris and that the party and the country loved him. Now there is no plan.”The confidence vote comes just a day after a dossier setting out Mr Johnson’s failings spread among Tory MPs.The paper, entitled Party Leadership, warned that the solution to “end this misery” was to remove Mr Johnson, who it described as “no longer an electoral asset”, from office.The Conservatives faces two big electoral tests later this month, in by-elections in different parts of England. More

Mobile phones will be confiscated from Conservative MPs voting to decide Boris Johnson’s fate – because they cannot be trusted to stick to the rule not to post pictures of their ballot papers.When Theresa May faced her no-confidence vote in 2018, MPs were ordered not to photograph their voting slips, but two disobeyed the instruction.As a result, party officials have decided reluctantly they have no option but to remove phones when the 2022 cohort decides, this evening, whether Mr Johnson should remain in No 10.One official said the Tories were “very keen” that no pictures of ballot papers appear this time, although they didn’t identify the culprits that broke the rules in the December 2018 contest.All 359 current Conservative MPs are expected to vote, which would mean the prime minister needs 180 votes to win the challenge to his leadership – although more than 100 rebels could still fatally wound him.They include the MP arrested on suspicion of rape and other sexual offences and ordered to stay away from Westminster, who is nevertheless able to vote through a proxy.The result will be declared at 9pm, with Mr Johnson expected to be told the result very shortly beforehand. He is unlikely to attend the declaration in a Commons committee room.more follows More

Allies of Boris Johnson have risked infuriating Conservatives MPs by claiming the party would be “comically ungovernable” under another leader. Supporters of the prime minister also hit out at Tory MPs who triggered a vote of no confidence in Mr Johnson, accusing them of lacking a plan to replace him.The prime minister is due to give a speech to Conservative backbenchers shortly as he fights for his political survival.Mr Johnson will address a meeting of the powerful 1922 committee in Westminster, two hours before MPs start voting on his future.Former Tory leadership candidate Jeremy Hunt has become the latest MP to say he should go over the partygate scandal.As the calls mounted today, John Penrose, the prime minister’s anti-corruption champion, resigned and announced he would vote against Mr Johnson, claiming the Tory leader had broke the ministerial code over Partygate.Many Tory MPs warn the party cannot continue with Mr Johnson as leader, arguing he has lost the trust of the British public following the revelations that a host of parties were held in Downing Street while the rest of the country was under Covid restrictions.But allies of the prime minister argue he is still the best person to lead and unite the party.One said: “I fear that what would happen is that the party would become comically ungovernable [without Mr Johnson].” Another hit out at rebels they said were trying to oust the prime minister without a plan for who would replace him.“They want to try to knit the parachute on the way down… that just doesn’t work,” they said. They rejected the idea that the party had been in a similar situation four years ago when MPs held a confidence vote in then-prime minister Theresa May. That had been a very different prospect, they said. “When Theresa May left everyone knew we would get Boris and that the party and the country loved him. Now there is no plan.”The confidence vote comes just a day after a dossier setting out Mr Johnson’s failings spread among Tory MPs.The paper, entitled Party Leadership, warned that the solution to “end this misery” was to remove Mr Johnson, who it described as “no longer an electoral asset”, from office.The Conservatives faces two big electoral tests later this month, in by-elections in different parts of England. More

Boris Johnson is to face a vote on his leadership of the Conservative Party just hours after it was announced the threshold for triggering the ballot had been passed.Sir Graham Brady, the chairman of the backbench 1922 Committee, confirmed in a statement on Monday morning that at least 54 Tory rebels had submitted letters of no-confidence in the PM.He announced the vote, which will take place in secret, would happen between 6pm and 8pm on Monday and ballots would be counted immediately afterwards.Sir Graham said he had informed Mr Johnson on Sunday night that the threshold had been reached.”We agreed the timetable for the confidence vote to take place and he shared my view – which is also in line with the rules that we have in place – that that vote should happen as soon as could reasonably take place and that would be today,” he told reporters outside parliament.It is not yet known at what time the result of the vote will be announced.Letters of no-confidence in the PM have been trickling in to Sir Graham over the past few weeks.The prime minister has been facing intense anger over the Partygate scandal and was booed at the Queen’s platinum jubilee service.Sir Graham refused to confirm how many letters had been received or when the threshold had been passed but said “it is slightly complicated because some colleagues had asked specifically that it should not be until the end of the jubilee celebrations”.A No 10 spokesperson said about the vote: “Tonight is a chance to end months of speculation and allow the government to draw a line and move on, delivering on the people’s priorities.“The PM welcomes the opportunity to make his case to MPs and will remind them that when they’re united and focused on the issues that matter to voters there is no more formidable political force”. More