Gamble seems less likely to pay off...

IT’S entirely right that MPs should be voting on whether Boris Johnson should be referred to a House of Commons committee for investigation into whether he lied to Parliament over what has become known as “partygate” .

What’s shameful is that we know before the vote takes place that the motion will be defeated by Tory MPs voting out of tribal loyalty.

It makes no sense for Mr Johnson to claim that he did no wrong when he attended parties held in 10 Downing Street at times when such gatherings were forbidden by law.

Indeed, his decision not to challenge in court the fixed penalty notice he was issued with indicates that he accepts he is a law breaker.

It follows that he misled Parliament when he claimed that no rules had been broken.

We therefore find ourselves in the unprecedented position of having a prime minister who has both broken the law and misled Parliament.

In these circumstances the only appropriate course of action is for Mr Johnson to resign.

By not doing so, he brings his own position into disrepute and further tarnishes the reputation of the government he leads and the Parliament of which he is a member

Matters of this kind should not be seen as party political.

They should be considered as questions of constitutional propriety.

In deciding whether the Prime Minister has transgressed the rules – by breaking the law and by telling lies in Parliament – it’s the duty of MPs to make dispassionate judgements based on the facts.

It seems clear that this won’t be the case when Conservative MPs decide how to vote.

It may be that some take their responsibility seriously and vote for Mr Johnson to face a full investigation. They will have behaved with the integrity expected of them.

Unfortunately they will be in a minority and, thanks to Parliamentary arithmetic, no investigation will occur.

It would probably be a different story if there. was a credible alternative Tory leader.

For various reasons – not least the decline in popularity of Rishi Sunak, the Chancellor – that is no longer the case.

The Prime Minister and the party he leads hope that all will be forgiven and forgotten by the time of the next general election.

It’s a gamble that with each new discreditable revelation seems less likely to pay off.