Boris plunges to LAST in closely-watched Cabinet ratings as rebel MPs plot after Partygate despite ministers backing the PM – while Ben Wallace stays top of the pile among Tory activists
Boris Johnson faced more Partygate woe today as he slipped to last place in closely-watched Cabinet rankings.
The PM is the only member of his team in negative territory in the latest ConservativeHome grassroots poll – with a net score of minus 15 after losing more ground over the past month.
Meanwhile, Defence Secretary Ben Wallace remains top of the pile with an overall positive score of 85, and Rishi Sunak has clawed back some standing following a dramatic plunge.
Although the survey is not scientific it is tracked by ministers and MPs, and will do little to ease anxiety in No10.
Mr Johnson is still facing rumbling unrest among Tory MPs, despite the Sue Gray report stopping short of criticising his personal behaviour and ministers offering staunch support.
A trickle of MP have broken cover to call for the premier to quit, although it is not clear how close the insurrection is to reaching the 54 no-confidence letters needed to trigger a full vote.
Boris Johnson is the only member of the Cabinet in negative territory in the latest ConservativeHome grassroots poll
What is the mechanism for removing the Tory leader?
Tory Party rules allow the MPs to force a vote of no confidence in their leader.
How is that triggered?
A vote is in the hands of the chairman of the Tory Party’s backbench 1922 Committee, Sir Graham Brady.
A vote of no confidence must be held if 15 per cent of Tory MPs write to the chairman. Currently that threshold is 54 MPs.
Letters are confidential unless the MP sending it makes it public. This means only Sir Graham knows how many letters there are.
What happens when the threshold is reached?
A vote is held, with the leader technically only needing to win support from a simple majority of MPs
But in reality, a solid victory is essential for them to stay in post.
What happens if the leader loses?
The leader is sacked if they do not win a majority of votes from MPs, and a leadership contest begins in which they cannot stand.
However, they typically stay on as Prime Minister until a replacement is elected.
Former minister Tobias Ellwood, a regular critic of Mr Johnson, complained this morning that his colleagues are ‘in denial’.
He told Sky News: ‘The party is increasingly in a difficult place. This is going to be a testing summer, polling is now saying we could lose 90 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. We will lose the next election on current trajectory as reflected in recent elections by local elections.’
He added: ‘And when you get the church elders in the party, such as Lord Hague, now expressing huge concern, you know, we need to listen.’
Despite the sniping, ministers have moved to shore up Mr Johnson, dismissing calls for yet another investigation of lockdown-breaching in Whitehall.
In a round of interviews this morning, culture minister Chris Philp said Partygate was the ‘most thoroughly investigated set of incidents in recent times’.
Asked on Sky News about claims Carrie Johnson organised previously unacknowledged parties in the Downing Street flat, Mr Philp said: ‘Well, I think we have had an unbelievably comprehensive set of investigations going on now for a period of nearly six months. We have had obviously the Sue Gray investigation published last week. And she interviewed, goodness knows, dozens or possibly even hundreds of people in the course of her investigation, looked at emails, messages, and everything else.
‘And we have had the Metropolitan Police investigation, which again, has gone over and gone on over a number of months. And they conducted that with full police powers.
‘So, having had two separate investigations, including by the police over many months, it is not immediately obvious to me that we need any more investigations when this has probably been the most… rightly been, the most thoroughly investigated set of incidents in recent times.’
The cross-party Privileges Committee is still due to probe whether Mr Johnson deliberately misled the Commons over Whitehall parties, a process which could take months.
Northern Ireland Secretary Brandon Lewis warned yesterday that a leadership battle is not ‘in anybody’s interests’, insisting the PM can still turn around the polls before the general election.
He also denied anyone tried to influence Sue Gray’s report – and said she would have ignored such efforts anyway.
In a round of interviews this morning, culture minister Chris Philp said Partygate was the ‘most thoroughly investigated set of incidents in recent times’
Rishi Sunak was at the bottom of last month’s ConservativeHome website, but has now been replaced by Mr Johnson
Meanwhile, Michael Gove – who blocked Mr Johnson from becoming PM in 2016 – said he should ‘fight and win’ the next election despite a trickle of Tory MPs withdrawing support.
Mr Gove argued that ‘no one in Government has his energy, his determination, his vision’ as he urged rebels to quieten down.
The interventions came as No10 denied pushing top civil servant Ms Gray to remove details about partying from her verdict last week.
The report painted a damning picture of drunken staff doing karaoke, fighting and vomiting in offices while the rest of the country was under a brutal lockdown.
However, it also avoided personal condemnation of the PM’s behaviour – after police decided he only deserved a single fine for a low-key birthday celebration in the Cabinet Room in June 2020.
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