MPS take position in the battle to be PM
THEY DECLARE WHO THEY ARE BACKING – AND WHY
A NORTH East MP has cast doubt on whether Boris Johnson has enough support to get on the leadership ballot.
In response to a reporter pointing out the former prime minister did not have 100 publicly declared backers, North West Durham MP Richard Holden said: “It’s because they don’t exist.”
Hexham MP Guy Opperman is backing Rishi Sunak. He said: “I remain of the view that Rishi Sunak is the right person to be our Prime Minister. He is a serious person for serious times.
“He was right about the economy during the summer: we need his leadership to get us back on track.”
Other Conservative MPS from the region, however, want to see Mr Johnson take the party’s helm again.
Berwick MP, transport secretary Annemarie Trevelyan, took to Twitter on Friday to voice her support. Blyth Valley MP Ian Levy, who was elected in 2019 to become the constituency’s first-ever Tory MP, made his preference for leader clear at an event in Blyth on Friday morning.
Middlesbrough South and East Cleveland MP Simon Clarke and Tees Valley’s Conservative Mayor Ben Houchen shared a joint statement with national newspaper The Telegraph claiming Teessiders love the former prime minister.
Bishop Auckland MP Dehenna Davison, who previously backed Liz Truss, and Sedgefield MP Paul Howell have yet to declare who they will be supporting.
Boris Johnson yesterday returned to the UK from holiday in the Dominican Republic, where he had travelled to despite Parliament not being in recess, to plot a bid to return as prime minister.
Mr Johnson’s ally Sir James Duddridge claimed he has the backing of the 100 MPS required to be on tomorrow’s ballot but many of them have not publicly declared that support.
He is likely to be opposed in the leadership race by his former chancellor Mr Sunak, whose resignation was key in Mr
Johnson’s departure from Downing Street this summer, as well as Commons Leader Penny Mordaunt.
As of last night, only 43 Tory MPS had said publicly they would back Mr Johnson, with 109 declaring support for Mr Sunak and 21 for Ms Mordaunt.
The possible return of Mr Johnson has been met with dismay in some quarters of the party. Trade minister Greg Hands said he will be supporting Mr Sunak to be the next prime minister, as he labelled Mr Johnson the “wrong choice”.
In a string of tweets, Mr Hands said: “I have no doubt at all that the best option is Rishi Sunak. I have worked closely with him in government.
“He had the right policies in the summer, and he has the right policies now. He is the right person to get the UK through the tough economic times and therefore for us to have a good chance at the next election. I like Boris, but bringing him back would be retrograde. Why?
“What finally finished Boris on 7th July wasn’t the ‘parties’ or even the Privileges Committee – it was that he wasn’t able to form a Government. 68 members of the Govt had resigned in 24 hours – and more were coming. How could any of those 68 now serve, just weeks after?”
Mr Johnson’s potential reinstatement has divided opinion even among his allies in the parliamentary party, including his former deputy prime minister and foreign secretary Dominic Raab.
Appearing on the broadcast round yesterday, Mr Raab said “we cannot go backwards” and pointed out Mr Johnson faces a probe into his actions over partygate.
Some MPS have warned they would resign the Tory whip and sit in the Commons as independents if Mr Johnson returns to Downing Street.
And analysts at Berenberg Bank said there were greater market risks from a Johnson government, with the FT reporting the bank told its clients: “Given that a majority of Conservative MPS probably do not want Johnson as their leader, the prospects of mass resignations and a further descent into chaos would loom large.”