Johnson’s been put on notice, warn West rebels
WEST Tory MPs who rebelled against Prime Minister Boris Johnson says he has a matter of weeks to right the ship if he wants to continue to lead the Conservative Party.
At least six West Tories - and quite possibly several more - were among the 148 of the party’s MPs who voted against Mr Johnson in Monday night’s secret ballot.
In Gloucestershire long-time critic of the Prime Minister Mark Harper, the Forest of Dean MP, had indicated he would vote against Mr Johnson in the vote of confidence.
And fellow county MPs Laurence Robertson (Tewkesbury) and Sir Geoffrey Clifton-Brown (Cotswolds) have now publicly said they did not vote to back the prime minister.
In Somerset Bridgwater and West Somerset MP Ian Liddell-Grainger and his counterpart in Westonsuper-Mare John Penrose have both confirmed they voted against Mr Johnson.
Hereford and South Herefordshire MP Jesse Norman on Monday published a devastating letter setting out his disappointment in the PM’s leadership and why he could no longer back him.
A number of other West Tory MPs have not publicly declared how they voted.
Speaking yesterday Mr LiddellGrainger said the Prime Minister now needs to concentrate on policies rather than parties if he hopes to lead the Conservatives to another General Election victory.
Mr Liddell-Grainger says Boris Johnson can have been left in no doubt as to his precarious position after a significant Tory rebellion in Monday night’s confidence vote.
And, he said, only by formulating credible, deliverable policies was he going to regain the trust and confidence of the Government benches.
Mr Liddell-Grainger said there was no doubt the Prime Minister had been shaken by the weight of votes cast against him.
“However he may choose to portray it this was a serious shot across his bows from a party which has had enough of being dragged down by the revelations of what was taking place in Downing Street while the rest of the country was under legal lockdown,” he said.
“The PM has won a second chance to prove he is up to the job - even though there are clearly very many who believe he isn’t. He now has a few brief months to attempt to redeem himself.”
Mr Liddell-Grainger said he had no regrets about being one of the 148 Tory MPs who voted against Mr Johnson.
“Those of us who really have our fingers on the pulse have been only too aware of the damage that has been inflicted on the Conservative party, on the Government and on the UK’s international reputation as a result of the hierarchy deciding the anti-Covid regulations somehow didn’t apply to them and proceeding to flout them,” he said.
“It’s going to require a radical change of course in the way the Prime Minister acts - and some truly beneficial new policies - if we’re to have any hope of repairing that damage and restoring the respectability of the current administration.”
Speaking on BBC Radio Gloucestershire yesterday morning, Sir Geoffrey revealed that he was one of the 148 MPs who voted against Mr Johnson.
He said: “I voted in no confidence for the Prime Minister because I feel that the country needs a change in direction and it’s now up to Boris Johnson to prove that he can unite the country, take us forward, give us a very clear steer of his vision for the country so we know exactly what he wants to achieve.”
Meanwhile former Conservative leader William Hague said the Prime Minister had experienced a “greater level of rejection” than any of his predecessors and should quit the premiership.
Tory MPs voted by 211 to 148 in support of the Prime Minister as part of a confidence vote which has left him wounded.
“While Johnson has survived the night, the damage done to his premiership is severe,” Lord Hague wrote in The Times.
“Words have been said that cannot be retracted, reports published that cannot be erased, and votes have been cast that show a greater level of rejection than any Tory leader has ever endured and survived.