Boris Johnson ‘risks losing the red wall’ over lobbying scandal, says senior Tory
Boris Johnson could lose seats in the red wall areas in the North of England if he does not get a grip on the ongoing government lobbying scandal, according to a senior Conservative MP.
MP for Harwich and North Essex Sir Bernard Jenkin wrote today that the scandal was “corrosive” to the public’s trust in the government as it continues to drag on.
The government has been rocked by a series of claims that former David Cameron lobbied ministers on behalf of failed finance firm Greensill Capital in a bid to get public contracts and an emergency bailout.
It has also been revealed that a senior civil servant was given a job at the firm in 2015 while still working in Whitehall.
Labour leader Sir Keir Starmer labelled the saga as the “return of Tory sleaze” on Wednesday.
Jenkin wrote in The Observer that the scandal risked putting off traditional northern Labour voters that backed the Tories in the 2019 election.
He said: “There is nothing wrong with a private citizen wanting to make money, but we have a system that has allowed the lines between public service and private gain to become blurred.
“This crisis presents an opportunity for a reset in politics and Whitehall, which could begin to restore public confidence.”