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 Johnsonâs 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 âstandout resultâ while Mr Sunak insisted the next general election was not a âdone dealâ 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 Sunakâs 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 Trumpâs 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. âPower,â says OâBrien as he tortures Winston in George Orwellâs Nineteen Eighty-Four, âis not a means, it is an end.â 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 ârepeated contemptsâ 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 Johnsonâs 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.
âIt is with a very heavy heart that I must tell you we cannot continue with Christmas as planned,â he said just five days after the party.
When one man sees he is being recorded, he says: âOh Christ.â Then another asks: âAre you filming this?â Someone else responds: âItâs for party, erm, party use.â
A man then laughs after declaring: âAs long as we are not streaming that weâre, like, bending the rules.â
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 Johnsonâs critics they should ânever, ever, everâ write him off amid questions over whether he could seek a return to the political frontline.
The committee recommended Mr Johnson âshould not be entitled to a former Memberâs passâ 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 Goveâs 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 Rishiâs 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 assassinâs gleaming smile, his gentle voice and even his diminutive stature had many of us well and truly fooled.
In einem Beitrag fĂŒr die Zeitung âMail on Sundayâ warnte Dorries die Mitglieder der Konservativen Partei vor dem frĂŒheren Finanzminister: âDas strahlende LĂ€cheln des AttentĂ€ters, seine sanfte Stimme und sogar seine winzige Statur haben viele von uns wirklich getĂ€uschtâ, schrieb Dorries. Zudem retweetete sie ein Bild, das zeigt, wie Sunak als Brutus den Premier als Julius CĂ€sar von hinten ersticht.
MP Greg Hands has branded âdangerousâ 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 „isnât viable actually when more than 40 per cent of your party vote against you“.
He told Times Radio: âThat 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.â
– 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, youâre not going to believe heâs 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 ÂŁ16bn.
Sir Graham said in a statement: âThe threshold of 15 per cent of the parliamentary party seeking a vote of confidence in the leader of the Conservative Party has been exceeded.
âIn accordance with the rules, a ballot will be held between 1800 and 2000 TODAY MONDAY 6th JUNE â 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, childrenâs 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 wonât 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.