Raab: Number of no confidence letters submitted “pretty far off” 54 needed to trigger Boris vote
Press Association
The Deputy Prime Minister has said he believes the number of letters which have been submitted to Sir Graham Brady is “pretty far off” the required amount needed to trigger a confidence vote.
Speaking to Times Radio, Dominic Raab said: “First of all, you said that there were 30 MPs who have been public (in their criticism of the Prime Minister). There’s of course well over 350-odd Conservative MPs.”
Presenter Aasmah Mir responded: “Well you need to get to 54, so it’s not that far off, is it?”
Mr Raab said: “Well, if you’re at 30, which is what you’ve just said, I think you’re pretty far off, but my point is even then, in terms of the support for the PM, the overwhelming majority have not been public about these kind of criticisms.
“Although in fairness, I want to say I understand the frustrations and the concerns.”
MPs being publicly vocal in their criticism of Boris Johnson does not mean they have submitted a letter.
He further said he does not believe former Cabinet minister Dame Andrea Leadsom has submitted a letter to the 1922 Committee.
Outlining his thoughts on her letter to her constituents shared on social media, which criticised Prime Minister Boris Johnson following the Sue Gray report, the Deputy Prime Minister told Times Radio: “I’ve known Andrea a long time, we came in as MPs, I hold her in high esteem.
“I think it’s clear that she’s expressing her frustration, she hasn’t put a letter in as far as I understand, she hasn’t said that.
“The most important thing is the fact that the Prime Minister has addressed all of these points (and) overhauled the No 10 operation.”