Whips plot lobbying drive to save Johnson

CONSERVATIVE whips are discussing how to fight back if rebel MPS trigger a vote of no confidence in Boris Johnson, as three new Tories urged him to resign.

All Tory MPS will be contacted immediately if the 54-letter threshold is reached, according to one Conservative whip, in a lobbying drive to save the Prime Minister’s job.

Yesterday, despite Parliament being in recess for the Queen’s Platinum Jubilee, some Conservative MPS believed to be critical of Mr Johnson were contacted by whips.

With Johnson loyalists scrambling to work out the size of the growing rebellion in the wake of Sue Gray’s partygate report, there were fresh signs of grassroots discontent.

A Conservative Home survey found Mr Johnson had the lowest approval rating of any Cabinet minister in the eyes of Tory party members.

Three more Conservative MPS made clear their discomfort over Mr Johnson’s leadership yesterday, heaping fresh pressure on the Prime Minister after lockdown breaches.

Jeremy Wright, the former attorney general, said Covid law-breaking by those in power had done “real and lasting damage” to the “authority” of the Government.

“I have therefore, with regret, concluded that, for the good of this and future governments, the Prime Minister should resign”, he added in a statement more than 2,000 words long.

Elliot Colburn, the MP for Carshalton and Wallington, confirmed that he had submitted a letter of no confidence in Mr Johnson but he issued no public statement.

Mr Colburn entered Parliament for the first time in the 2019 election, beating his Liberal Democrat rival by just 629 votes, meaning he faces a tough election battle.

Nickie Aiken, the former Tory vicechairman who also has a narrow majority, said in a letter to constituents that Mr Johnson should call a confidence vote himself to end speculation.

Ms Aiken said she was “incredulous and appalled in equal measure” at the

‘I have concluded that for the good of this and future governments, the Prime Minister should resign’

‘A lot of the comments we have been getting on the doorstep was about the impact of partygate’

Gray report’s findings. She once led Westminster council, which Labour won control of this month.

Another Conservative MP, Andrew Bridgen, confirmed that his no confidence letter had been resubmitted, having removed it after Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.

Tom Tugendhat, the chairman of the foreign affairs select committee, also reportedly told constituents that partygate showed a “lack of respect” for the British people, but fell short of publicly calling for a resignation.

To trigger an automatic vote of confidence in Mr Johnson, 54 Tory MPS need to submit a letter of no confidence to the 1922 Committee, made up of Tory backbenchers.

Sir Graham Brady, the chairman of the 1922 Committee, collects the letters. They can be submitted in secret. Only when the 54-letter threshold is met does he announce the development. While it is unclear how many letters have been submitted, the danger for Mr Johnson is real as close to 30 Tory MPS have publicly called for his resignation. More than 10 Tory MPS have gone public with resignation calls since the Gray report’s publication.

Should a no confidence vote be triggered, a simple majority of the 359 Conservative MPS would be able to ditch the Prime Minister as Conservative leader.

The votes are cast anonymously, meaning ministers and even Cabinet ministers could vote for Mr Johnson’s demise without being identified.

It emerged yesterday that Chancellor Rishi Sunak’s local council leader, Carl Les, was among those Tories calling for the Prime Minister to quit.

Mr Les, the Conservative leader of North Yorkshire county council, said: “I am very disappointed that the strong majority we had in North Yorkshire has diminished down to a working majority, but only just.

“A lot of the comments we have been getting on the doorstep was about the impact of partygate.” Dominic Cummings, the former senior adviser to Mr Johnson, predicted that a leadership vote was coming. He wrote: “I still think the letters will come in before MPS rise for summer,”

One MP calling for Mr Johnson to quit said they were aware of colleagues who had submitted letters of no confidence but not declared so publicly.

The rebel Tory MP told colleagues: “People need to wake up and smell the coffee.”