A moment later, Mr. Harper made public his letter of no confidence, sent to the Committee in 1922, the official means of provoking Mr. Johnson’s leadership vote.
However, his intervention proved to be extraordinary, as most Tory MPs who spoke in the debate supported Mr Johnson, with many citing the war in Ukraine as a reason for him to stay in place.
Labor will submit a proposal Wednesday calling on the Privileges Commission to be tasked with investigating whether the prime minister has misled parliament over claims to the party.
Mr Johnson initially insisted that all of Covid’s guidelines had been followed when allegations surfaced at Downing Street late last year that violated blocking rules.
However, 50 notices of fixed sentences have already been issued by the Sofia police for violating the Covid law in government buildings, and the investigation is still ongoing.
Mr Johnson, Rishi Sunak, the Chancellor, and Carrie Johnson, the Prime Minister’s wife, were fined for a rally on Mr Johnson’s birthday on 19 June 2020.
A commission inquiry into whether Mr Johnson has defrauded parliament will pose a political threat, given that the crime has traditionally been considered a matter of resignation for government ministers.
However, the Prime Minister’s decision to continue his trip to Gujarat and New Delhi reflects the confidence of his inner circle that there are not enough Tory MPs to vote in favor of the proposal.
A senior government official dismissed speculation that the trip could be canceled at the last minute due to the vote, saying it was “critical for jobs, trade, investment and diplomacy”.
Political Ammunition
Tory lawmakers will be forced to oppose the proposal in Thursday’s vote, with conservatives expected to be warned not to vote against the party leader’s interests.
However, Labor claims that Tory MPs who oppose the proposal are watching “cover-up”, preparing to use such decisions as political ammunition in their campaign for the May 5 local elections.
A Labor source said: “Any Conservative MP who is considering voting to block this investigation will vote for cover-up. They need to think about the mess they got into because of Owen Patterson before they agree.
If the proposal is accepted and the commission is tasked with conducting an investigation, documents and photos may be requested from Sue Gray, the senior government official who led Whitehall’s initial “partygate” investigation.
The metro said it had received more than 300 photos related to their inquiries.
Mr Johnson was forced to step down last year after a backlash over the killing of Tory MPs to delay a decision to remove Mr Patterson, then a Tory MP, over lobbying claims.
The prime minister later admitted that he “crashed the car” because of the way he conducted the vote. Mr Patterson resigned as an MP and the Tories lost the ensuing by-elections for his seat.
There are few public signs that enough conservatives will revolt to accept the proposal and launch a commission inquiry, although uncertainty remains.
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