Ditch Johnson, Starmer tells Tories
Labour leader tells rival MPS to imagine the next two years working for a PM who is ‘unfit for office’
‘I’m confident we’re going to win the next election’
‘Are they prepared to endure the next two years of increased degradation of themselves and their party?’
CONSERVATIVE MPS should act now and oust Boris Johnson as Prime Minister, Sir Keir Starmer has argued in a provocative call to action.
Speaking to The Daily Telegraph, the Labour leader claimed the string of rows centred on Downing Street in recent months showed Mr Johnson was “unfit for office”. The Labour leader urged Tory MPS to consider what the years before the next general election would be like under the current leadership. Sir Keir said: “They have to decide: ‘Are we going to endure this for next two years, or however long it may be, degrading ourselves and our party, defending the indefensible?’”
The intervention is an apparent attempt to fuel the rebellion that is sweeping the Tory backbenches after Mr Johnson announced new Covid restrictions on Wednesday.
But it is likely to be dismissed as political opportunism by the Prime Minister’s supporters, given Sir Keir’s vested interest in unseating the man currently in Number 10. The Labour leader confirmed that he would whip his party to vote in favour of the new Plan B measures, that include the implementation of Covid passports in England – despite critics saying Sir Keir was missing the chance to inflict a politically damaging House of Commons defeat on Mr Johnson, given the number of Tories vowing to vote against the plans.
But Sir Keir said that after briefings with government scientists he was convinced the new measures were the right move, saying to go against that instinct would be putting “party politics above the public interest”.
Labour has overtaken the Tories in opinion polls in recent weeks as Number 10 has been embroiled in a string of political rows, some self-inflicted. Sir Keir said: “I’m confident we’re going to win the next general election, whether that’s in 2023 or 2024.
“So the question – and this is really the question that I think is central now – for the Cabinet, for ministers and for all Tory MPS, frankly, is are they prepared to endure the next two years of increased degradation of themselves and their party, being put out to defend the indefensible and bringing themselves and their party into further disrepute? Because this isn’t going to change. He’s unfit for office … are they going to do something about it?”
The Labour leader was asked if he was explicitly urging Conservative MPS to submit letters of no confidence in Mr Johnson – the mechanism that can trigger a party leadership vote. About 54 Tory MPS would need to submit such letters to trigger the vote.
He said: “Well, it’s up to them. But the first thing is that they decide: ‘Am I prepared to degrade myself and my party for the next two years or am I going to do something about it?’”
He also claimed Mr Johnson was a “threat to public health”, because the Christmas party allegation could undermine the chance of others following the rules.
The allegation has been dismissed by Mr Johnson’s spokesman.