Removing Boris Johnson for Partygate would be an “extremely stupid thing,” warned Jacob Rees-Mogg, hesitant Conservative MPs.
Fellow cabinet minister Priti Patel also gathered the prime minister’s defense, telling back judge Tori, urging him to resign in order to “forget”.
Mr Johnson has stepped up pressure following Sue Gray’s report on Downing Street parties, with almost 30 Tory MPs calling for his resignation and 44 openly questioning his leadership.
Some Tory rebels believe they could reach the 54 letters of no confidence needed to provoke a vote on his leadership next week, but the prime minister’s allies remain challenging, saying the conspirators were “arrogant, narcissistic and contemptuous”.
Rhys-Mogh told TalkTV that Mr Johnson remains a “huge electoral asset – I think the idea that a change of leader would help the Conservatives is for the birds.”
The Brexit Minister for Opportunities added: “This would be the most divisive thing the party can do. It is extremely foolish to want to try to open the door for Sir Keira Starmer if we assume that he survives.
Ms Patel told the Daily Mail that writing no-confidence letters to Mr Johnson was a “side show” and the party needed to focus on “real challenges we need to find solutions to”.
Culture Secretary Nadine Doris told the BBC that efforts to oust the prime minister were being coordinated by “one or two people” due to “personal ambition”.
Simon Fell, a Tory MP from Barrow and Furness, was the last to criticize Mr Johnson on Wednesday – attacking the “corrosive culture and failure of leadership”, which allowed parties to do so in a letter to a voter shared on social media.
Former Tory MP Caroline Dinenaj, a Tory MP from Gosport, also told voters she was “not ready to defend” the party leadership, saying: “Those at the top must take responsibility for the culture that is allowed to penetrate.”
This increased the number of MPs speaking out against his Mr Johnson and questioning his leadership to 44. But only 28 explicitly called on him to leave, and the number of no-confidence letters sent to the 1922 commission chairman. Sir Graham Brady, is unknown.
Johnson’s allies told The Times he remained confident he would win any no-confidence vote – which required him to maintain the loyalty of 180 lawmakers.
One said, “Wouldn’t it be the most condescending, narcissistic and contemptuous thing to decide that now is the time for another three months of conservative navel care?”
Tory senior MP Tobias Eloud called for “politeness” in the party as it struggles with the issue of leadership, as he confirmed that he had sent a letter of no confidence months ago.
Asked about briefings against the conspirators, he told Times Radio: “I am worried about the language currently being used. I’m worried about where [the debate] is descending. The party itself must work together, no matter what happens. “
“But you can’t get away from the fact that there are real concerns [about Johnson’s leadership] … This is reflected in elections, local elections and, no doubt, in by-elections. And these issues need to be addressed. “
Mr Johnson told Mumsnet on Wednesday that leaving Partygate’s “completely miserable” scandal would be irresponsible, as he denied speculation that he was a “common liar”.
He cited the enormous pressure on the economy, the war in Ukraine and his “mass program” as reasons to stay in office and not seek to “leave” the ship.
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