Top Tories have warned that traditional supporters are abandoning them after the fine of Boris Johnson of Partygate, as another MP broke the cover to say the prime minister should be removed for his behavior.
Conservative lawmakers across the country said yesterday they believed many people who had previously supported the party were now expressing concern, as Downing Street was preparing for new notices of fixed penalties related to the parties in the coming days.
Former Immigration Minister Caroline Knox told the Observer that she was sticking to her decision to submit a no-confidence motion against the prime minister.
That makes her the last lawmaker to support a race for leadership after fines were imposed last week for violating a blockade of Prime Minister and Chancellor Rishi Sunak.
She also highlighted the correspondence, which suggests that previously secure voters were concerned. She writes: “There are people who say that these emails are only from the” usual suspects “. It is true to say that there were few of them, political activists, who sent automated emails drop by drop. But they are many in the minority.
“Most of the emails I received last week were from people who were really worried about family events they couldn’t or didn’t attend, and a lot of people I know who have long been conservative supporters. .
“I have not withdrawn the letter of no confidence in Boris Johnson that I wrote months ago to Sir Graham Brady, the chairman of [Tory backbench] 1922 committee, because that would mean disappointing all those people who spent the pandemic doing the right thing.
Other Tory MPs, including incumbent ministers, said they believed some parts of their constituents were being alienated. A number of them said the party was trying so hard to keep newer Brexit-backed voters that many traditional supporters were turned away from Partygate and the government’s plan to send asylum seekers to Rwanda.
“If you go to our newer working class voters, blue-collar workers, I’m not sure they’re that worried,” said a Northern Tory MP. “But if you go to our traditional middle-class Tory voter, they’re angry. That’s how I would define it. I think he should have resigned. “
One minister said: “We are taking a route that isolates people in the middle. I don’t know if there are enough votes from the right and the core of the party to get us through. I just think it’s offensive and does real damage to the brand. I’m just awful. “
A former minister said, “There are a few of what I call ‘barometer people,’ they came up to me and said, ‘Look, we’re still mad at him.’ We do not think that he should resign at the moment because we have the crisis in Ukraine, but he should not lead us in the next elections. These are people I know are conservative supporters. “
The news comes with Tory MPs who want further remorse from Johnson when he meets with them after returning to parliament this week. He promised to give a fuller explanation for his earlier denial that the parties had taken place. There will also be requests this week for a vote on the prime minister’s referral to the Inter-Party Privileges Committee on whether he misled MPs about parties to block Downing Street.
Some MPs critical of Johnson say they only have a few months to decide if he is the right person to lead them in the next election. “As a party, we have to decide on Boris by the summer holidays,” he said. “If we don’t do it by then, Boris will lead us to the next general elections.
Labor leader Keir Starmer has called on Tory MPs to remove Johnson. “He’s unfit for work and every day he stays on Downing Street makes his office worse,” he said. “The Tory cabinet, ministers and MPs need to realize that this will not change, and every time they defend Boris Johnson, they get caught up in his web of lies. Are they really willing to stand aside and do nothing because his behavior is tarnishing their reputation? Only conservative MPs have the power to end this shameful saga. If the prime minister does not resign, then they must take action when parliament returns this week to send a clear message that honesty and integrity in public life are still important.
A new Opinium study for the Observer suggests that the fines for Johnson and Sunak had a more immediate impact on the Chancellor’s popularity, which reached a record low. The share of voters who approve of the Chancellor is 24%, with 49% disapproving. His net approval rating of -25 is his lowest ever. Johnson remains with a net approval rating of -26.
The Sofia police are also under increasing pressure to explain their approach and the timing of their decision to fine senior politicians for violating blocking rules. Unmesh Desai, a Labor member of the Greater London Police Committee and the Crime Committee, said he and colleagues were concerned that the Met had chosen to reveal Partygate’s politically explosive findings last week at a time when parliament was not in session.
Desai, a former chairman of the commission that reviews the work of the Mayor’s Office for Police and Crime, which in turn heads the Metro, said: “The timing and manner of the announcement raise more questions than answers.
Desai also wanted to know why the drip diet policy on the decision on a fine for the forces was adopted by the Met, a strategy he said was unprecedented. He said the commission would ask Sir Stephen House – acting head of the Met until a new commissioner is appointed – why the force had decided to publish the results of the unit’s investigation.
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