Plans to overthrow Boris Johnson as Tory leader and prime minister “sooner or later” without waiting for a clear and obvious successor are being developed by a growing number of senior conservatives.
Amid growing concern about the effects the Partygate scandal could have on their election chances, senior lawmakers are urging their hesitant colleagues not to worry about concerns about Russia’s accession or invasion of Ukraine, but rather to strike before it’s too late.
A former minister told the Observer: “Things have changed. Now there is a feeling that we cannot defend what is happening and that we cannot procrastinate any longer because of the legacy or Ukraine. If we don’t do well before the party conference in October, it will be too late. “
After another disastrous week for Johnson, during which lawmakers from all parties agreed to launch their own investigation into whether he deliberately misled parliament, lawmakers say several potential heirs are stepping up campaign preparations and supporting campaigning – including Liz Truss, Penny Mordaunt and Jeremy Hunt.
Last night, Mark Harper, the former Tory chief whip who called on Johnson to leave last week, told the Observer that he understood why some colleagues wanted to postpone their actions until Partygate’s investigations were completed or for other reasons.
But he urged them to be confident that an excellent successor will emerge during the process of electing a new leader, even if it is not clear who he will be now.
“I saw enough to conclude that the prime minister should leave,” Harper said. “My colleagues can be sure that we have very talented people and a very stable process for choosing a new leader who will ensure that we get a capable, reliable successor who can make an attractive offer and ensure that we can win the next elections.
He added: “I think the facts will mean that the majority of conservative MPs will come to the conclusion that the prime minister must leave.”
Another former cabinet minister said doubts about the succession were irrelevant, such as the urgency of the situation. “A broom would be better than what we have now,” he said.
The mood changed dramatically against Johnson last week after he was forced to apologize to the municipality for being fined for attending a blockade birthday party in 2020, and then seemed to support attempts to order his own their deputies to block an investigation into whether he deliberately misled parliament, having previously denied parties.
Many Tory MPs are awaiting the results of the May 5 local elections before deciding whether to send a formal letter of no confidence to Johnson to the commission’s 1922 chairman, Sir Graham Brady. If Brady receives 54 or more such letters, a vote of confidence must be held, and if Johnson loses, he must resign.
The problems that have engulfed Rishi Sunak are seen as ruining his chances of following Johnson at number 10. Photo: Aaron Chown / PA
The problems that recently engulfed Johnson’s previous favorite, Chancellor Rishi Sunak – over his wife’s tax issues and the fact that he was also fined for violating blocking rules – are seen as ruining his chances of following Johnson at number 10. .
Tory’s peer Lord Hayward agreed that the mood had changed and that inheritance problems were less likely to deter MPs. I have the impression that as people have moved from the position they were in to a more skeptical position, they now believe that this should just happen – and we will talk about ‘who’s next’ when happened. There are people who move, get to the point of no return, although they are not sure what the alternative would be. It’s just a matter of judging when the time comes. “
Another senior Tory MP said: “Many colleagues in local elections have heard: ‘I like what you are doing as our new MP, but we cannot vote for you while this lazy idiot is in power.’ This week, I spoke to several MPs, all of whom took their seats in the Labor Party. Everyone said the situation was terrible. They start saying it’s not if, but when – and it doesn’t matter who it is, as long as it’s not him. “
Johnson insisted during a two-day trade trip to India that he would lead his party in the next general election. But the Partygate scandal haunted him throughout the visit. Shortly before his return to London on Friday, it turned out that the metropolitan police had started issuing fines for another party he attended – in this case a garden event “bring alcohol” on May 20, 2020. № 10 says Johnson he was not fined for attending the event, although it was impossible to say whether it would be in the future.
Opposition party leaders said it would be unacceptable for the prime minister to withhold information on whether he had been fined before the local elections.
Labor’s deputy leader, Angela Raynor, said: “There can be no hiding place for breaking the law, including on Downing Street. Boris Johnson must keep his promise and declare without hesitation if he is given a new fine for violating his own blocking law. He has been hiding the truth from the British public for too long.
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