Boris Johnson and his allies have made urgent efforts to lobby hesitant lawmakers, as he faces a growing threat of a vote of confidence in his leadership, which could jeopardize his position for days.
By Tuesday night, at least 44 Tory MPs had publicly questioned Johnson’s suitability to take office, including 18 who are known to have sent letters to Sir Graham Brady, chairman of the Conservative Committee since 1922, for official to ask for a vote of confidence.
Others openly called on the prime minister to resign or said they had lost faith in his leadership.
Andrea Leedsom, a former cabinet minister, joined a growing number of public critics on Tuesday, saying there had been a “failure of leadership” in number 10. Two other lawmakers, both in office, therefore did not speak in public, either it is known that they sent letters.
Separately, the Guardian has seen letters to voters or public statements from at least 35 other lawmakers who suggest they openly question the prime minister’s future or express deep concern over events at No. 10 – including former ministers Richard Graham and Mark Garnier, and 2019 MP Anthony Brown.
Brown, who told voters he lost his mother during the pandemic, said he was “concerned about the behavior shown by the prime minister and senior staff at number 10, and agreed that there was a bad culture and a failure of the top leadership. both politically and officially. It is right that they must be held accountable. “
Garnier said some would “question Met’s honesty and how their view of what happened differs from what appears in the published photos”, but suggested waiting for an inquiry from the Municipal Privileges Committee to reports whether Johnson has misled MPs.
Graham told voters he would not issue a new statement until the Privileges Report was complete – and would not reveal whether he would send a letter. But he said other colleagues had decided that the prime minister had failed parliament and had to resign, and “I respect their views”.
According to conservative rules, if 15% of the 54-member parliamentary party sends letters to Brady, it leads to a vote of confidence. Johnson will then have to win the support of 180 lawmakers – half of the parliamentary party plus one – to remain in office.
Brady declined to comment on Tuesday on whether he was near the doorstep. “You can always ask,” he told BBC News. “I tell people that they are very free to do that and I will keep my discretion. I can’t say anything more. “
However, there are growing expectations that enough letters have arrived or will soon be sent for a vote of confidence next week, or else this could happen if the Conservatives perform poorly on two key additional elections next month.
Although Brady may announce a no-confidence vote during the current parliamentary holiday, senior Tory sources have suggested that Brady will postpone it until after the Queen’s platinum anniversary weekend.
As the sense of crisis deepens at number 10, conservative whips began calling on lawmakers to try to secure their support. Reports say Johnson did the same, hinting at a possible increase – although a Downing Street source said he was “too busy”.
Leedsom, who serves as Johnson’s business secretary, published a letter to voters saying last week’s report on parties that violated the Downing Street blockade showed “significant leadership failures, both political and official.”
“Each of my fellow Conservative MPs and I now have to decide individually what is the right course of action that will restore confidence in our government,” she argued.
Also Tuesday, Carlisle MP John Stevenson said he had added his name to those who write to Brady.
He said: “Unfortunately, the prime minister does not seem to want to bring things up and vote. Therefore, the only option is for Conservative MPs to facilitate a vote of confidence. I have already taken the appropriate action. “
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Opponents have already begun trying to persuade enough lawmakers to vote against Johnson if a vote of confidence is won, arguing that if the prime minister secures a small victory, he will either limp to defeat the election or risk early voting. “We have to get to 160 or it will destroy all our electoral hopes,” said one.
Against the backdrop of last week’s report by Sue Gray’s report on parties №10, Johnson wrote to his independent adviser on the Ministerial Code, Lord Hyde, to say that as an arbitrator of the code he did not believe he had violated it by being fined. for attending his birthday party.
“With regard to the fixed notice of punishment for my presence in the Cabinet on June 19, 2020, I believe that, given all the circumstances, I have not violated the code,” Johnson wrote, adding that Chancellor Rishi Sunak, who was fined for the same event was also clear.
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