Tory party brand is 'suffering' says Tobias Ellwood MP
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Boris Johnson will face a “testing summer” as the aftershocks of the Sue Gray report continue to tarnish his leadership position and challenge support for the Prime Minister within the Conservative party. Bitter Tory MPs have submitted in increasing numbers letters of no confidence in the Prime Minister to the 1922 Committee of backbench Conservatives. The doubt from within his own party has placed an increased burden on Boris Johnson as he attempts to address other serious political concerns, including the cost of living crisis and, internationally, the invasion of Ukraine.
Conservative MP Tobias Ellwood, who has publicly condemned the events within Downing Street during lockdown, claimed his party would likely lose the next general election if Boris Johnson were to retain his leadership position.
Speaking to Sky News, Mr Ellwood said: “This is going to be a testing summer.
“Polling is now showing we could lose 19 seats and we still seem to be in denial.
“It’s time to shake off this partisan Stockholm syndrome, I believe.
“Our party brand is suffering and we will lose the next election on the current trajectory.”
The Conservative MP added: “As I predicted, we’re now going to get a steady drumbeat of colleagues no longer willing to defend, or indeed dismiss, what happened in Number Ten.”
Mr Ellwood suggested far more Tory MPs will go on to submit letters of no confidence against the Prime Minister, although Sir Graham Brady, chair of the 1922 Committee, has not yet confirmed how many letters have been received.
Since the Gray report, 26 Tory MPs have so far publicly called for Boris Johnson to resign and 35 have questioned his position as Prime Minister.
To trigger a vote, 54 letters are needed, meaning 15 percent of the Parliamentary Conservative party would have to refer their concerns to the 1922 Committee.
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Mr Ellwood, the Conservative MP for Bournemouth East, has been publicly open about his clear disapproval of the Prime Minister’s breach of lockdown restrictions.
In an address to the House of Commons on May 25, Mr Ellwood said: “This is a damning report about the absence of leadership, focus, and discipline in Number Ten, the one place where you expect to find those attributes in abundance.
“I have made my point and my position very clear to the Prime Minister, he does not have my support.”
Despite his insistence that Boris Johnson should resign, other MPs have refuted the arguments of Mr Ellwood as supporters of the Prime Minister’s call for stable leadership to address the economic crisis and ongoing international turmoil of the Russian invasion in Ukraine.
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In an earlier interview with Sky News, Conservative Minister Jacob Rees-Mogg said: “When he [Boris Johnson] said no rules were broken that is what he was told and, from his experience, believed.”
Mr Rees-Mogg has been a fierce defender of the Prime Minister and has called for the political focus of the UK to address the economic concerns of the cost of living crisis rather than issues concerning Partygate.
Similarly, following the publication of the Sue Gray report, Transport Secretary Grant Shapps said: “Now it’s time to get on with the job and deliver on the issues that matter most to the British people.”
Housing Secretary Michael Gove echoed the sentiments of his colleague as he added: “The Prime Minister has apologised, lessons have been learned and changes made.
Now, we need to focus on the economic challenges ahead and get behind the PM.”
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