Damian Green and Steve Baker endorse shadow security minister as they seek to ‘transcend old divisions’
Two senior Tories have thrown their weight behind Tom Tugendhat to be the new Conservative party leader.
Damian Green and Steve Baker lost their seats in the election earlier this month but are influential figures in the party. They have endorsed Tugendhat, who is the shadow security minister, in a joint article for the Telegraph.
Continue reading...Powerful voice of Tory backbenchers says he will no longer contest Altrincham and Sale West seat
Sir Graham Brady, whose role as chair of the Conservative party’s 1922 Committee saw him usher three prime ministers out of Downing Street in four years, is to step down as an MP at the next election.
The most powerful backbencher of his political generation, Brady released a statement to his local newspaper saying it was time to “bring this fascinating and fulfilling chapter of my life to a close”.
Continue reading...As Boris Johnson and Penny Mordaunt drop out, the 1922 Committee manages to dodge a democratic vote
It all panned out about as well as the Conservative party could have hoped. A new leader – the right leader, as far as MPs were concerned – elected in a matter of days. No general election. Heaven forbid. A failed state couldn’t be doing with that level of democracy. Never trust the people you’re intending to govern.
Not even a parochial, controlled election of the Conservative gerontocratic membership. That hadn’t worked out so well the last time they had tried it. No, now was the time to reduce the electorate from 180,000 down to 357 MPs. That was the way to govern the UK. Men and women who could be trusted to put the interests of themselves and their party ahead of those of the country. A higher calling than simple patriotism.
Continue reading...Nominations for next Tory leader will close at 2pm on Monday before next prime minister is confirmed on 28 October
• Liz Truss to quit as prime minister – full story
Attempting to steady the ship is Conservative MP Sir Roger Gale, who has told PA news agency that the chaos over the fracking vote had been a “storm in a teacup”, and that the appointment of Shapps could strengthen Truss’s position.
“The [Suella] Braverman issue is rather more fundamental, but I think on balance it’s possible the prime minister might come out of it actually stronger rather than weaker,” he is quoted as saying. “We need people in the government who are grown-up and experienced and understand real politics.”
Continue reading...The prime minister ditched her close ally Kwasi Kwarteng to save her own job – but now Conservative MPs are openly plotting to replace her
After an astonishing eight-minute press conference, in which Liz Truss attempted to salvage her imploding leadership by firing her closest political ally and ditching a totemic policy that won her the job, the most telling reaction was that of officials who had served in Boris Johnson’s chaotic Downing Street.
Just a few short months ago, they had been forced to endure months of scandal, followed by the resignations of dozens of ministers. They had even awkwardly brushed shoulders with cabinet members gathered in Downing Street to tell Johnson that his time was up. But after watching Truss’s hunted demeanour on Friday afternoon, their suffering suddenly seemed trifling.
Continue reading...Twitter complaints of sexism and dated views pour in after 1922 Committee tries jest with teapot amid Tory leadership contest
Attempts to inject some levity into the Conservative leadership contest on social media fell flat on Wednesday when a photograph tweeted of the 1922 Committee led to criticism that it was sexist and outdated.
With the announcement of the two remaining candidates for the UK prime minister role about to be announced (at 4pm this Wednesday) or at “tea time” as it was described, the photograph showed members of the committee representing Tory backbenchers posing with teacups in hand and a teapot.
Continue reading...Latest updates: 1922 committee announce latest vote tally
Q: Lord Frost says Penny Mordaunt is not up to the job. You have worked with her. Do you agree with him?
Truss says she will not be making any disparaging comments about her opponents. The contest shows a broad range of talent. And the party did not get there through identity politics.
Continue reading...Chair of 1922 Committee says candidates will now need 20 MP backers to enter, in move to speed up process
Britain’s new prime minister will be announced on 5 September, it has been announced, as the starting gun was fired on a Tory leadership race that will see the hopefuls whittled down to two by Thursday.
With just two contenders so far having the support of the 20 Tory MPs needed to get them on to the ballot, the nine remaining hopefuls were scrambling to shore up support by Tuesday night before knockout votes begin on Wednesday afternoon, with the first results announced later that day.
Continue reading...‘Disastrous’ attempt to intervene over Pincher may intensify backbench calls for prime minister to go
The former Tory whip who has been suspended as an MP for allegedly groping two male colleagues said on Saturday he was seeking “professional medical support” for his problems as the latest Tory sex scandal spelt yet more trouble for Boris Johnson.
Chris Pincher, who has been referred to the independent complaints and grievance scheme in relation to incidents at the Carlton Club in central London on Wednesday evening, said he was “truly sorry” and that he hoped be back serving his constituents again “as soon as possible.”
Continue reading...Elections seen by many as proxy ballot on whether prime minister should face second no-confidence vote
One of the most important but understated elections in Westminster will take place within weeks, with the date still shrouded in secrecy but candidates already plotting their campaigns.
With positions on the 1922 Committee of Tory backbenchers, which sets rules for the parliamentary party, up for grabs, this is how the contest works and how it could influence whether Boris Johnson will face another no-confidence vote.
Continue reading...Some who backed PM only last week now set sights on ‘clean sweep’ of backbench committee that could allow leadership vote
Boris Johnson is facing a fresh threat from Conservative rebels planning a takeover of the powerful backbench committee that could force the prime minister from office.
Opponents of Johnson, including some who were loyal to him as recently as last week, have set their sights on a “clean sweep” of the 1922 Committee amid a hardening of the mood against the prime minister.
Continue reading...PM retains support of most colleagues but badly weakened after result in which 148 MPs voted against him
Boris Johnson was clinging to his premiership on Monday night after 148 of his MPs voted to oust him from Downing Street in a ballot that exposed potentially fatal rifts within his party.
The prime minister won the support of 211 MPs but 41% of his party voted to get rid of him, with many citing his lack of repentance over the Partygate scandal and the public’s loss of trust in his leadership. It was the worst verdict on a sitting prime minister by their own party in recent times.
Continue reading...Several Tory MPs believe the 54-letter threshold has been reached and that a challenge to PM could be mounted as soon as next week
Boris Johnson’s lurch to the right after Partygate is fuelling even more anger among rebel Tory MPs, with momentum now building for a leadership challenge next week.
Conservative whips spent the first day of recess anxiously phoning round the parliamentary party to shore up support for the prime minister, as three more MPs called on him to resign, including Jeremy Wright, the former attorney general.
Continue reading...Senior Conservatives fear that, whether the PM stays or goes, the opinion poll deficit is not now recoverable
It’s supposed to be make-up-your-mind time for Conservative MPs. But having waited six months for Sue Gray’s report into law-breaking parties across Westminster, many are still grappling with whether to clear Boris Johnson’s path to the next general election – or oust the man who won them an 80-seat majority.
What is already clear is that boastful proclamations from Johnson’s supporters this week claiming the prime minister’s position was safe have proved premature.
Continue reading...The prime minister is under pressure to resist an ‘excess of caution’ as a third wave of infections grips Europe
Boris Johnson faces mounting pressure from senior Tories to resist attempts to extend the blanket ban on overseas travel or delay the loosening of UK restrictions, amid new warnings over rising Covid cases in Europe.
With scientific advisers warning of the risks of overseas holidays in the late spring and summer, figures from across the Conservative party demanded that the prime minister reject an “excess of caution” in reacting to an apparent third Covid wave across the continent.
Continue reading...Analysis: many on the Tory backbenches want Covid restrictions over by end of April
When Boris Johnson stands at the dispatch box on Monday to deliver his roadmap for easing Covid restrictions for what he hopes will be the final time, there is likely to be a sigh of relief from his scientific advisers who will have won the most recent battle.
Johnson is now gearing up for the next tussle, which will be with his MPs. There is a truce with the cabinet.
Continue reading...Amendment calling for votes on new restrictions is winning cross-party support
Boris Johnson is facing a massive parliamentary revolt over the way he is imposing Covid-19 restrictions on the British people without first consulting MPs – amid new signs that confidence in his leadership is collapsing in the Conservative party and across the country.
An extraordinary cross-party backlash against Johnson’s “rule by diktat” from Downing Street was taking shape on Saturday – ahead of a key vote on Wednesday – as a new poll by Opinium for the Observer showed Labour has overtaken the Tories for the first time since Keir Starmer became leader in April.
Continue reading...Party in despair, senior MP says, as Labour draws level in wake of exam chaos and Covid U-turns
Boris Johnson is facing a showdown with furious Conservative MPs over his government’s chaotic handling of Covid-19, as a new poll shows the Tories have surrendered a massive lead over Labour in just five months.
As MPs prepare to return to Westminster on Tuesday, Charles Walker, who is vice-chair of the 1922 committee of Conservative backbenchers, told the Observer that a recent string of U-turns had left many colleagues in despair, with some struggling to support and defend their government to constituents. Governing by U-turn in this way, he said, was unsustainable.
Continue reading...Boris Johnson said it was time to move on – but the public, the press and scores of his own MPs didn’t agree
As she looked out of her kitchen window towards a farm in the distance owned by Dominic Cummings’ parents, an elderly woman described her reaction on Friday to the story that had caused shock not just in rural County Durham, but across the whole country.
“I have isolated for 10 weeks. I have not seen my children since before Christmas,” said the woman, who asked not to be named. She lives in a pretty village across the valley, with a pond and village green, where life normally passes quietly by with few disturbances.
Continue reading...Environment secretary insists he is ‘in it to win it’ and vows to focus on overlooked families
Michael Gove has tried to claw his way back into the race to be Britain’s next prime minister with a pledge to govern for “overlooked families and undervalued communities” – and a series of personal attacks on frontrunner Boris Johnson.
The environment secretary’s campaign was blown off course at the weekend after revelations about cocaine use. But on the day the Tory leadership contest launched in earnest, Gove insisted he was still “in it to win it”.
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