Partygate: Senior Tory says local elections may determine Boris Johnson’s future, ahead of ‘full-throated apology’
A possible Tory rebellion against Boris Johnson over partygate would likely happen after local elections, a senior Tory MP said.
The treasurer of the powerful Conservative backbench 1922 Committee, Sir Geoffrey Clifton-Brown, made his comments as the PM faces new charges about his role in the lockdown breaches, for which he and Rishi Sunak were given fixed penalty notices.
Johnson is due to speak in the Commons on Tuesday and offer an apology, amid claims he ‘instigated’ a party and was pouring drinks, for a former senior member of staff’s leaving doo.
Speaking to the BBC, Sir Geoffrey Clifton-Brown, said he and other backbench colleagues would wait for the statement, and likely until after the local elections, to decide on handing in letters of no confidence.
“For me personally I would like to see all the evidence, whether there are more fines issued, what Sue Gray has to say, and then what the verdict of the British people in the local government elections are before making any decisive judgements.
“But at the moment my judgement would be it is certainly not in the country’s interests to think about replacing the Prime Minister”, he said.
Other senior Tories to call on the PM to consider his position include former minister Tobias Ellwood.