British Prime Minister Boris Johnson faces a crucial week. His position is shaky than ever after weeks of revelations about lockdown parties at his official residence. His fate is now tied to the investigation into the parties by public servant Sue Gray who will present her findings next week.
especially it bring your own boozeparty in 2020 sparked a lot of anger. It took place at a time when the British government had imposed a strict lockdown on the entire country. Social contact had to be avoided as much as possible and large group gatherings were prohibited. Citizens were allowed to meet a maximum of one person outside their own circle in the open air.
Twisted and half-hearted apologies
The prime minister has since admitted that he was present at one of the parties, although he thought it was a work meeting. Also defended he himself by saying that “no one told me this was against the rules”, when he had actually made the rules himself.
His Conservative party members are dissatisfied with their leader’s twists and half-hearted apologies. A handful of Conservatives are even openly demanding his departure. “For God’s sake, go away,” former Brexit secretary David Davis said during a session of the House of Commons on Wednesday.
When 54 Conservative MPs sign a letter denouncing their confidence in the prime minister, it triggers a vote of confidence. The Conservative House of Commons faction will then have to decide whether they want to continue with Johnson as leader.
There is only one party official who knows exactly how many letters have been handed in, but for the time being he is keeping it a careful secret. British media speculated that between 15 and 30 Conservative MPs had handed in a letter early this week.
Election promises
The dissatisfaction is greatest with the group of Conservatives who were elected for the first time in 2019. They represent the so-called Red Walldistricts in the north and center of England, old industrial areas that served as Labor strongholds for decades, but came into the hands of the Tories in the 2019 elections.
Johnson attracted many disaffected Labor voters in these districts with two election promises: Get Brexit Done in Leveling Up. He quickly fulfills the first promise when he concluded a deal with Brussels on British withdrawal. With his second promise, leveling up, Johnson announced major government investment to revitalize the slumped industrial areas.
Conservative MPs who represent these districts fear that little will come of that last promise now that the prime minister is embroiled in scandal. About twenty Red WallMPs have been implicated in a coup attempt to overthrow Johnson from the throne, British media say.
Defection to opposition
One Conservative MP, Christian Wakeford, did not wait. He decided to defect to Labor on Wednesday. To the cheering and hissing of his Conservative party members, Wakeford crossed over to the opposition benches just before Question Time, where he took a demonstrative seat behind Labor leader Keir Starmer.
Correspondent Fleur Launspach gauged sentiment in Bury-South, MP Christian Wakeford’s constituency:
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