Senior Conservative lawmakers said Monday that Boris Johnson is likely to face a vote of no confidence in the party’s leadership if the Tories lose two by-elections next month.
Two other Conservative lawmakers on Monday called on the prime minister to step down after the party scandal, including former Attorney General Jeremy Wright.
Wright said the affair had caused “real and lasting damage” to the government’s reputation, adding: “For the good of this and future governments, the prime minister must resign.”
A total of 26 Tory lawmakers have already publicly called for Johnson to step down, some after a humiliating report by senior government official Sue Gray on the party scandal last week.
The report outlines the culture of drinking and breaking the law on Downing Street during the coronavirus restrictions.
In order to hold a vote of no confidence in Johnson’s leadership, 54 Tory MPs must send letters requesting a vote to Sir Graham Brady, chairman of the Conservative Committee since 1922.
The number of letters sent to Brady so far is under 40, two senior Tory MPs have estimated. Only Brady knows the actual number because it is meant to be a secret process.
Gray’s report has been followed by letters of no confidence, mostly from lawmakers who could face a strong challenge from Liberal Democrat candidates in the next general election.
Several Conservative senior MPs have said that if the party loses two by-elections in Tiverton and Honiton in Devon and Wakefield in West Yorkshire on June 23, it could prompt more Tories to send letters to Brady and ensure that the 54 threshold is reached. .
The Liberal Democrats sought to take Tiverton and Honiton from the Conservatives, while the Labor Democrats sought to secure Wakefield from the Tories.
One minister said: “There will be another round [of no-confidence letters] publish the by-elections. “
He added that the result of Tiverton and Honiton would be “key” to whether Johnson faces a no-confidence vote. “Most of the people who are worried are facing the Liberal Democrats, and this place will show that our threat is bad.
Another influential Conservative MP predicts a no-confidence vote after the by-elections.
A former cabinet minister said criticism of Johnson could “explode” after the results.
Another Tory MP said that the mood inside the parliamentary party was moving towards a no-confidence vote because “it is high time your colleagues were convinced that you could not win a majority in the next general election”.
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A senior conservative said he did not expect Brady to make any announcements this week. Parliament returns after its last break on 6 June.
Downing Street declined to comment. Another minister said Conservative MPs wanted to see if the government’s new £ 15bn package to alleviate the cost-of-living crisis would improve the party’s reputation.
“I think people will wait and see what happens after the party,” he added. “Shall we swim back a little?” Or is the cost of life pulling us down again?
If the 54-vote vote of no confidence is reached, 180 Tory MPs will have to vote in the ballot against Johnson to be removed as Conservative leader and prime minister.
A close ally of Johnson predicts that if a no-confidence vote is received, the former mayor of London will struggle to remain the party’s leader.
“Boris’s argument to the party is simple: he has never lost a national election,” he added. “Despite all the odds, he won London twice, the EU referendum and the 2019 elections. Do you really want to replace him with someone who has no experience in winning elections?
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