Tories revolt as voters turn on Cummings
More than 35 Conservative MPS call for Prime Minister’s chief adviser to quit
MORE than 35 Tory MPS, including former Cabinet ministers, yesterday called for Dominic Cummings to resign, after claiming they had been contacted by hundreds of angry constituents over his alleged breaches of lockdown.
Boris Johnson’s hopes of quelling public anger over his aide’s conduct were in jeopardy last night as opinion polls showed a sharp fall in support despite Mr Cummings hosting an unprecedented press conference to explain why he travelled to Durham during the lockdown.
Within 24 hours of the press conference, a junior minister became the first to resign over the affair and Cabinet ministers said Mr Cummings should “step back” until a police investigation into his behaviour had concluded.
The Daily Telegraph understands that up to six members of the Cabinet have privately told colleagues they believe Mr Cummings should resign.
Jackson Carlaw, the Scottish Tory leader, is among those urging Mr Cummings to consider quitting. Former attorney general Jeremy Wright and Mark Harper, a former chief whip, are also calling for him to go.
Last night, Jeremy Hunt, the former health secretary, said he believed Mr Cummings committed a “clear breach of lockdown rules”. Although he said he was not calling for the chief adviser to resign, he added that he recognised “that accountability is central to our democracy and sometimes people do need to resign”.
After four days of the issue dominating the political agenda, Matt Hancock said at the daily Downing Street briefing that he understood “the anger that some people feel” over Mr Cummings’s apparent breach of lockdown rules.
The Health Secretary added: “I can understand why reasonable people can take a different view, but my judgment, which is the same as the Prime Minister’s judgment, is that what Mr Cummings did was within the guidelines.”
Earlier in the day, Michael Gove, the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster, had similarly defended Mr Cummings, saying that people would “make their own mind up” about what the adviser had done but insisting that he had not broken the law or the rules.
However, there was fresh confusion when Mr Hancock promised he would “look into” reviewing all penalty fines imposed on families travelling for childcare purposes during the lockdown.
The Health Secretary’s response to a question from a vicar during yesterday’s press conference prompted a clarification from government sources later in the evening who stressed that fines would not, in fact, be overturned.
Growing numbers of Tory backbenchers urged the Prime Minister to set up an independent inquiry into Mr Cummings’s trip to Durham as they said trust in the Conservatives was draining away over the affair. Sir Graham
Brady, the chairman of the 1922 committee, held a meeting of its five most senior officers yesterday. He has been asked by backbenchers to demand No10 sanctions an inquiry.
Opinion polls carried out after Mr Cummings’s appearance – and two press conferences from the Prime Minister – showed that approval ratings for both Mr Johnson and the Government have plummeted. Mr Johnson’s own ratings have plunged by 20 percentage points in just four days and are now in negative figures for the first time.
The Prime Minister suffered the first resignation over the Cummings affair when Douglas Ross, a junior Scotland
Office minister, announced he was quitting because he was unconvinced by Mr Cummings’s explanation.
Despite last-ditch phone calls from both Mr Johnson and Mr Cummings urging him to stay, the Moray MP said he resigned as his constituents had made huge sacrifices sticking to the “stay home” guidance. Amid fears the public will stop listening to the Government’s public health messages Mr Ross said: “I cannot in good faith tell them that they were all wrong and one senior adviser to the Government was right.”
A second minister told The Telegraph they had taken soundings from friends as to whether they should resign, adding: “This is going to be very, very damaging and I really am sick of it.” With at least 38 Tory MPS – almost double Monday’s number – calling for Mr Cummings to be sacked or resign, and party sources saying dozens more privately agree, Mr Johnson’s 80-seat majority would be under threat should they mount a full-scale rebellion.
Mr Wright, the former attorney general, said he did not find Mr Cummings’s arguments “persuasive” and he had concluded “it would be better for Mr Cummings to leave his position”.
William Wragg, a member of the executive of the 1922 Committee, said: “We cannot throw away valuable public and political good will any longer.”
Mr Harper, a former Tory leadership candidate, said there was “no credible justification” for Mr Cummings’s trip to Barnard Castle and he should have
apologised as an “absolute minimum”. One Cabinet minister told The Telegraph that Mr Cummings should “step back” until Durham police have concluded their investigation.
Co Durham’s three Conservative MPS last night issued a joint statement saying that while Mr Cummings’s public statement had addressed “a number of concerns” ... “in the same circumstances, none of us would have made the decisions he made – particularly over the visit to Barnard Castle.”
The majority of the public now thinks Mr Cummings should resign, according to a Yougov poll carried out yesterday, with the number wanting him to quit – 59 per cent – increasing in the wake of his public statement. The number thinking he broke lockdown rules, 71 per cent, has also increased.
One Conservative source said: “The Prime Minister said people should judge Dom’s story for themselves. Well they have, and they have decided he should go.”
Mr Johnson faces another difficult day today when he appears before the powerful liaison committee, which includes the cross-party chairmen of 36 Commons select committees, for a session that is likely to be dominated by questions about Mr Cummings.