Published: 06:45, 26 May 2022
A former Conservative MP from Norfolk said Prime Minister Boris Johnson was “not ashamed” and “immoral”.
And he said the coming days could further damage his former leader’s chances of staying in power.
Mr Johnson said he had taken “full responsibility” after a report by senior official Sue Gray revealed details of a series of parties at number 10 during the coronavirus blockade.
The prime minister has opposed new calls for his resignation, but one of his former Tory counterparts said the scandal could still lead to his resignation.
Former Broadland MP Keith Simpson. – Credit: Luke Powell
Keith Simpson, an MP from Broadland from 2010 to 2019 and an MP from Mid Norfolk from 1997 to 2010, said: “I don’t think he should have led the party in the last general election, let alone the next one.
“The problem is that I think he is an immoral man. He dived and dived, and David Cameron was right to describe him as a fat pig. He is not ashamed.
“In my experience of working in organizations, when things are going well or things are going badly, the way a man or woman behaves at the top determines the atmosphere of the organization.”
Mr Simpson said: “He will never resign. The only way to remove him is when a significant number of Conservative MPs decide that he no longer wants to put them back in their seats and win the next election.
“It has undoubtedly hurt him, but we will find out in the next few days, when the deputies return to their constituencies, how much.
“Their own conservative associations may be very angry, and I think the majority will be tired of having to defend it in public.”
Mr Simpson said the defeat of the Conservatives in the midterm elections in Wakefield and Tiverton would put additional pressure – and the question remains for the municipal committee to investigate whether he misled parliament.
But Mr Simpson added: “What can really be the killer for him is inflation and the cost of living crisis.
“The fact [chancellor] Rishi Sunak may make a statement on Thursday, it may be convenient, but they really have no idea how to deal with it and are in a big hole on the issue.
“They will disappear from the road with the public. And remember, it’s not just a year or two in this – they’ve been in power for 12 years.”
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