The Tories lost two seats with around 20,000 majorities in by-elections on Thursday in Selby and Ainsty, to Labour, and Somerton and Frome, to the Lib Dems, while narrowly holding on to Boris Johnson’s old Uxbridge and South Ruislip seat amid a challenge from Labour.
Tory Party chairman Greg Hands claimed the 495-vote victory in Uxbridge was the “standout result” while Mr Sunak insisted the next general election was not a “done deal” despite the loss of two safe seats.
The Conservatives lost to the resurgent Labour Party in Selby and Ainsty, a region in the north of England where the Sunak’s party had enjoyed a commanding majority.
A second seat, Somerton and Frome, was won by the Liberal Democrats, a centrist party.
The Conservatives just managed to hold on to a third seat, Uxbridge and South Ruislip, the constituency held by former Prime Minister Boris Johnson until his resignation from parliament last month, although Labour significantly grew its share of the vote.
Not all politicians are the same, I know that, but enough of the current crop are to make many turn away from politics forever. The Johnson debacle, like Trump’s manoeuvrings, is a profoundly anti-democratic moment as both leaders seek to undermine any institution that stops their ambition. That ambition has nothing to do with improving the lives of anyone but themselves. “Power,” says O’Brien as he tortures Winston in George Orwell’s Nineteen Eighty-Four, “is not a means, it is an end.” Indeed.
Mr Sunak joined many Conservatives in swerving the debate, instead attending a Jewish Care event.
(19.06.2023)
Only seven Tories voted against the report after a five-hour debate in Parliament, with 354 MPs across all parties in favour of the conclusion that Mr Johnson had deliberately misled the House.
The former prime minister quit as an MP after he learned of the recommendations of the cross-party group, which included a 90-day ban from the House of Commons for “repeated contempts” of Parliament.
(19.06.2023)
Branding him the first former prime minister to have lied to the Commons, the Privileges Committee found Mr Johnson committed ‚repeated contempts‘ of Parliament by deliberately misleading MPs with his partygate denials before being complicit in a campaign of abuse and intimidation.
The former prime minister had urged his allies not to oppose the report, arguing that the sanctions have no practical effect, although critics said it was a move designed to avoid revealing the low level of remaining support for him among Tory MPs.
At least 24 guests were reportedly at the gathering which was held just a few days before Mr Johnson’s 19 December announcement that Tier 4 Covid curbs would be implemented. This put London and the southeast of England under severe restrictions which meant many could not see their families on Christmas Day.
“It is with a very heavy heart that I must tell you we cannot continue with Christmas as planned,” he said just five days after the party.
When one man sees he is being recorded, he says: “Oh Christ.” Then another asks: “Are you filming this?” Someone else responds: “It’s for party, erm, party use.”
A man then laughs after declaring: “As long as we are not streaming that we’re, like, bending the rules.”
It was just days after the party that Mr Johnson announced even tighter restrictions which meant people in the areas worst hit by Covid could not see their loved ones over Christmas.
The former prime minister also warned Mr Johnson’s critics they should “never, ever, ever” write him off amid questions over whether he could seek a return to the political frontline.
The committee recommended Mr Johnson “should not be entitled to a former Member’s pass” after it concluded he had deliberately misled MPs over partygate.
Long-awaited, but much more hard hitting than anticipated, the Privileges Committee report condemned Boris Johnson for repeatedly misleading MPs and – despite his protestations to the contrary – undermining the committee itself.
My comments were widely interpreted to be anti-aspirational and it was suggested that I was seeking revenge against the man who, while Chancellor, had been planning a coup for a very long time and who had ruthlessly and metaphorically stabbed Boris Johnson in the back.
Rishi had been plotting against the most electorally successful Prime Minister the Conservative Party has known since the days of Margaret Thatcher. His actions made Michael Gove’s betrayal of Boris Johnson during the 2016 leadership campaign appear like a rank amateur rehearsing for the role of Brutus in a village hall play.
(…)
I wanted to highlight Rishi’s misguided sartorial style in order to alert Tory members not to be taken in by appearances in the way that happened to many of us who served with the Chancellor in Cabinet. The assassin’s gleaming smile, his gentle voice and even his diminutive stature had many of us well and truly fooled.
In einem Beitrag für die Zeitung „Mail on Sunday“ warnte Dorries die Mitglieder der Konservativen Partei vor dem früheren Finanzminister: „Das strahlende Lächeln des Attentäters, seine sanfte Stimme und sogar seine winzige Statur haben viele von uns wirklich getäuscht“, schrieb Dorries. Zudem retweetete sie ein Bild, das zeigt, wie Sunak als Brutus den Premier als Julius Cäsar von hinten ersticht.
MP Greg Hands has branded ‘dangerous’ a retweet by culture secretary Nadine Dorries, showing Rishi Sunak stabbing Boris Johnson in the back.
(06.06.2022)
What about the will of the people?
New snap poll from @OpiniumResearch shows 59% think Tory MPs should vote to remove Johnson as leader today
Lord Hague, the former leader of the Conservative Party, said Mr Johnson is now facing a „big problem“ because it „isn’t viable actually when more than 40 per cent of your party vote against you“.
He told Times Radio: “That is very difficult then to proceed as party leader in the long term. This is like trying to drive along the M1 with two flat tyres. You can say you are at the steering wheel but is it really viable? You are not going to get to the end of the motorway.”
– Boris Johnson is setting out to revive his premiership after a hugely damaging confidence vote last night
– His allies are begging the 148 MPs who voted against the PM to ‚back down‘ after his slim victory yesterday
– One loyalist MP described Monday as ‚the first day of a Tory civil war‘ with a double by-election looming
– The PM‘s allies have insisted he will ‚fight his corner‘ amid warnings that an early general election is possible
– Backbench chief Sir Graham Brady called a full vote after receiving 54 letters from MPs calling for one
Some big names may quit during the day, because many cannot accept the result. If you think Johnson is a disaster on Monday morning, you’re not going to believe he’s a genius on Monday evening, and no one would believe you if you said so.
What about the will of the people?
New snap poll from @OpiniumResearch shows 59% think Tory MPs should vote to remove Johnson as leader today
Big names include billionaire JCB boss Lord Bamford, property magnate Sir Tony Gallagher and Carphone Wearhouse founder David Ross.
Other names include multimillionaire financier Howard Shore and mega rich Simon Rueben – who alongside brother David is worth £16bn.
Sir Graham said in a statement: “The threshold of 15 per cent of the parliamentary party seeking a vote of confidence in the leader of the Conservative Party has been exceeded.
“In accordance with the rules, a ballot will be held between 1800 and 2000 TODAY MONDAY 6th JUNE — details to be confirmed.
– Boris Johnson is facing a confidence vote at 6pm tonight after Tories wrote letters to the 1922 committee
– The PM‘s allies have insisted he will ‚fight his corner‘ amid warnings that an early general election is possible
– Backbench chief Sir Graham Brady calls a full vote when he receives 54 letters from MPs asking for one
During the pandemic, the British state imposed unprecedented constraints on the liberties we cherish.
When visiting dying relatives or drinking a cup of coffee on a park bench in open countryside becomes a criminal offence, something has gone terribly wrong.
The restrictions inflicted huge damage to the economy, children’s education and the public health. And latest evidence seriously questions whether they had much real effect.
If there is one lesson we must learn from this pitiful farrago, it is that such a sweeping affront to freedom can never be allowed to happen again.
Boris Johnson won’t be fined again for breaking coronavirus regulations after UK police concluded a probe into rule-breaking gatherings during lockdown, a major boost for the prime minister after months of turmoil.
Tory MPs are assessing the fall-out after a „tough night“ for Boris Johnson in his first test at the ballot box since being fined for breaking lockdown rules.
The Conservatives lost nearly 500 seats in England, Wales, and Scotland in Thursday‘s council elections, with partygate and the cost of living crisis cited by local leaders as key issues on the doorstep.
– The Prime Minister said sorry with ‚full humility‘ over the £50 fixed-penalty notice he received last week
– But in the same breath he claimed ignorance of his own Covid rules over June 2020 event in No10
– Told MPs ‚It did not occur to me then or subsequently that gathering … could amount to a breach of the rules‘
According to a snap poll by YouGov, 57 per cent of British adults think Mr Johnson should resign for breaching the Covid rules. The same proportion also now want his Treasury protege to follow suit.
The Chancellor will be especially disheartened to discover that while 25 per cent of Tory voters want rid of Mr Johnson, the figure rises to 30 per cent when it comes to his own future in the party.
Boris Johnson may face more woe over the coming days, amid claims Sue Gray‘s report into the Partygate scandal is due next week and ‚will not make comfortable reading‘ – potentially even leading to more fines.
The Met revealed on Tuesday that at least 30 more fixed penalty notices were issued over the saga, with a spokesman for Number 10 confirming Mr Johnson, his wife Carrie and Chancellor Rishi Sunak will be among the recipients.
Scotland Yard hatte wegen mehrerer Partys am Regierungssitz während der Coronavirus-Ausgangssperren in den Jahren 2020 und 2021 Ermittlungen aufgenommen. Der Premier, dessen Beliebtheit nach dem Skandal stark gesunken war, hatte sich im Jänner vor den Abgeordneten entschuldigt, einen Rücktritt jedoch ausgeschlossen und auf die Ergebnisse der polizeilichen Ermittlungen verwiesen.
Cressida Dick appeared to rule out any punishment stronger than a fine for Boris Johnson over Partygate today – as he refused to confirm he would quit if found to have broken the law.
Scotland Yard is sending formal questionnaires to more than 50 people to ask them to give an account of their involvement, with the documents due to start arriving by the end of this week.
But it comes after Scotland Yard has been rocked by multiple scandals in recent months, including the force‘s handling of partygate, Sarah Everard‘s murder and repeated claims of a culture of misogyny and racism.
Country‘s most senior police officer says Sadiq Khan, the Mayor of London, ‚left her with no choice‘ but to quit
More than 100 Conservative MPs could turn against Boris Johnson if his leadership is put to a confidence vote, i has established.
The Prime Minister would still technically win the ballot of 360 Tory MPs as he only needs a majority of one to survive, but he would be severely wounded by the scale of the rebellion, which would go far beyond the current public dissent by backbenchers against his leadership.
The culture secretary brands it „disappointing“ after former minister Nick Gibb became the 14th Conservative MP to publicly call for the prime minister to resign, but says the plotters were in the „absolute minority“.
– Some Cabinet ministers believe ‚it feels like the end‘ for Mr Johnson‘s premiership because of Partygate chaos
– Downing Street suffered a day of chaos yesterday as four of Mr Johnson‘s most senior aides opted to resign
– Furious Conservative MPs have warned Mr Johnson that he must ‚shape up or ship out‘ amid mounting fur
Matt Hancock did it. Allegra Stratton did it. Heck, even Priti Patel once did it, and she’s terrifying when cornered.
They’ve all said that magic phrase that makes the worries of the world, the expectation of their paymasters and the weight of public opinion suddenly lift from their slumped shoulders with a shuddering creak and an almighty groan. That phrase being something along the lines of: “I have become a distraction – and for that reason, I will be resigning with immediate effect.”
The chief of staff, the chief of communications, the official who runs the prime minister‘s private office, and his policy chief – all gone. A quartet of departures from Number 10.
In the words of one senior backbencher, not just a nightmare on Downing Street but a total meltdown.
Number 10 reveals both Dan Rosenfield, the PM‘s chief of staff, and Martin Reynolds, Boris Johnson‘s principal private secretary, are leaving their roles. It comes just hours after two other key advisers to the PM – press chief Jack Doyle and policy chief Munira Mirza – also resign.
Anthony Mangnall and Sir Gary Streeter were the latest MPs to publicly withdraw their support for the Prime Minister and submit a letter of no confidence.
– Sir Charles Walker said he would ‚applaud‘ Boris if he stood down over Partygate
– But vice chairman of 1922 Committee stopped short of demanding resignation
– Tory MP Peter Aldous earlier revealed he had submitted letter of no confidence
– The PM is currently in Ukraine, where tensions with Russia threaten to boil over
Boris Johnson attended a prosecco-fuelled leaving do for a No 10 aide during the strict post-Christmas lockdown, which is now under police investigation, the Guardian has learned.
Sue Gray’s investigation into lockdown parties this week revealed several events that had not previously been publicised, including a gathering on 14 January 2021 “on the departure of two No 10 private secretaries”. But the redacted report revealed no further details.
But we have to face a grim reality which is that as we stand here today Volodmyr, more than 100,000 Russian troops are gathering on your border in perhaps the biggest demonstration of hostility towards Ukraine in our lifetimes.
And the potential deployment dwarves the 30,000 troops Russia sent to invade Crimea in 2014. Since that time of course, as everybody knows, more than 13,000 Ukrainians have been killed and Ukraine has been plunged into nearly a decade of war.
It goes without saying that a further Russian invasion of Ukraine would be a political disaster, a humanitarian disaster, in my view would also be, for Russia, for the world, a military disaster as well. And the potential invasion completely flies in the face of President Putin’s claims to be acting in the interest of the Ukrainian people.
– Police are poring over dossier of 300 Partygate photos with Carrie Johnson‘s ‚party‘ under investigation
– Scotland Yard is examining eight dates on which 12 events are said to have taken place, with detectives gathering 500 pages of information
– Boris Johnson is understood to have attended at least four gatherings being probed by the Met Police officers
– Top civil servant Sue Gray has delivered report into claims of rule breaches, but made clear watered down
It comes to something when a police investigation into misconduct in No 10 and the danger of war in Europe are seen as helpful developments by supporters of the Prime Minister.
Boris Johnson’s human shield is no longer Sue Gray, but the Metropolitan Police. Gray’s report, used by Downing Street to evade scrutiny about Covid rule breaches and by Conservative MPs to delay moving against the Prime Minister, will soon be published. But her account of the worst transgressions will be redacted, following an edict by the Met commissioner, Cressida Dick.
Downing Street staff found to have broken Covid lockdown laws may never be publicly identified under the terms of the police investigation into the scandal, The Times understands.
Sue Gray, the senior Whitehall official who has been investigating up to 18 parties in Downing Street, is due to hand her report to Boris Johnson as early as today.