MPs on the PM in wake of Partygate
All areas: Theresa May silent on Commons vote of no confidence
The Windsor, Slough and Beaconsfield MPs have all commented on the vote of no confidence in Prime Minister Boris Johnson on Monday.
MPs held a no-confidence vote to see if the leader still had the backing of the majority of Conservative MPs following the ‘Partygate’ scandal.
Boris Johnson survived the vote, winning the support of 211 MPs to 148. However, he faced a substantial rebellion from his own party, with 41 per cent of Tories voting to oust him.
This compares to 37 per cent of Tories voting no-confidence against Maidenhead MP Theresa May during her leadership.
Mrs May declined to comment on Mr Johnson's result.
Her neighbouring Conservative MPs Adam Afriyie (Windsor) and Joy Morrissey (Beaconsfield) voiced support for the PM.
But Labour MP for Slough, Tan Dhesi, said he believed this vote was ‘the beginning of the end’ for Boris Johnson.
Ms Morrissey was the most vocal supporter of the Prime Minister out of the local MPs, saying he had her ‘wholehearted’ support.
“He has led this country through COVID, the vaccine rollout and the war in Ukraine,” she wrote.
“Boris Johnson has got the big calls right and has led this country through one of the most challenging periods since WWII. Now is not the time for a leadership contest.”
She added that by backing the PM, fellow MPs would be choosing to focus on the economy, cutting taxes, making streets safer and tackling NHS backlogs.
“We have a job to get on with, and we should focus on uniting behind the PM to do it,” she wrote in an open letter to fellow MPs, encouraging them to vote in Mr Johnson’s favour.
Also supportive, Mr Afriyie said to the Advertiser on Tuesday: “I, of course, voted to support the Prime Minister.
“He won the vote and it is time to get on with boosting jobs, reducing tax rates, supporting the least well-off with cost-of-living pressures and showing unwavering support for our Ukrainian allies.”
However, Tan Dhesi (Labour), gave a searing criticism of both Mr Johnson and MPs who voted in his favour.
“Monday’s confidence vote, rather than drawing a line under Partygate, has left us with a lame-duck Prime Minister, because over 40 per cent of Boris Johnson’s own MPs are fed up with the culture of lying and lawbreaking in Government,” he said.
“However, it’s disappointing that the majority of Tory MPs still couldn’t do the honourable thing and force out a morally vacuous Prime Minister, who rather than dealing with the key issues affecting our country, is too engrossed in saving, by hook or by crook, his own position.
“Boris Johnson’s willingness to continuously lie to the public and Parliament demonstrates an utter contempt for integrity, a belief that it’s one rule for him and another for the rest of us, and that truth and honesty do not matter.
“Monday’s vote was the beginning of the end for this Prime Minister – it’s just a matter of when, not if.”