Ministers beg Tories to pull together as Boris Johnson calls ceasefire in bitter feuding after Rishi Sunak ducked Partygate report showdown for glitzy charity event – with polls showing Labour lead surging to 20 POINTS ahead of crucial by-elections
Ministers begged Tories to pull together today as Boris Johnson called a ceasefire in the wake of the dramatic Partygate report vote.
Work and Pensions Secretary Mel Stride warned the party must ‘focus on what people really care about’ following the extraordinary scenes in the Commons last night.
MPs voted by 354 to seven to endorse the controversial Privileges Committee report that found Mr Johnson lied to the House – a conclusion he dismissed as ‘tripe’.
Mr Sunak himself joined many Conservatives in swerving the debate, instead attending a Jewish Care event.
It is understood that Mr Johnson is keen to soothe tensions that have seen the two men publicly trading blows in recent weeks.
And the impact of the Tory feuding was underlined today with polls showing Labour’s lead surging.
Research by Redfield & Wilton Strategies found Keir Starmer’s party was 20 points ahead – up from 14 points a week ago.
Meanwhile, Deltapoll put the advantage at 19 points, eight point more than the previous week.
It is understood that Boris Johnson (file picture right) is keen to soothe tensions that have seen him men publicly trading blows with Rishi Sunak (left in London last night) in recent weeks
Research by Redfield & Wilton Strategies found Keir Starmer’s party was 20 points ahead – up from 14 points a week ago
Meanwhile, Deltapoll put the advantage at 19 points, eight point more than the previous week
MPs voted by 354 to seven to endorse the controversial Privileges Committee report that found Mr Johnson lied to the House – a conclusion he dismissed as ‘tripe’
Mr Stride denied that Mr Sunak was too ‘cowardly’ to register a vote on the committee’s report last night, saying he had been busy with ‘long-standing events’ including hosting his Swedish counterpart, Ulf Kristersson.
The Cabinet minister told BBC Radio 4’s Today programme: ‘I don’t think it is odd that he should be in a position before a vote which is a free vote in which he has made clear it is for the House to decide on these matters.
‘I don’t think it’s odd that under those circumstances he wouldn’t want to weigh in and start suggesting a particular course of action.’
Liberal Democrat deputy leader Daisy Cooper said Mr Sunak had ‘committed a cowardly cop-out’.
Mr Stride told Times Radio he accepted the committee’s findings and believed members acted with ‘absolute integrity’ and ‘diligence’.
But he said he abstained because the 90-day suspension the report recommended – largely academic because Mr Johnson had already resigned – made him feel ‘quite uneasy’.
‘My hope is that Boris Johnson, the current Cabinet… that we can all row together now and focus on what people really care about,’ he added.
Only seven MPs voted against the report, after Mr Johnson urged his allies not to participate in the division.
Much of the Government payroll did not take part in the vote but some Cabinet ministers including Commons Leader Penny Mordaunt, Justice Secretary Alex Chalk and Education Secretary Gillian Keegan chose to support it.
Joy Morrissey, who was appointed assistant whip by Mr Johnson and continues to hold the role under Mr Sunak, said she voted against because the report was ‘deeply flawed’.
Mr Sunak himself joined many Conservatives in swerving the debate, instead attending a Jewish Care event
Mr Johnson also entertained his Swedish counterpart at Downing Street yesterday
‘This report with all its flaws risks a chilling impact on the rights of parliamentarians and I felt I needed to make a stand against that. It sets precedents that will last long and reach deep,’ she wrote on her website.
During bruising scenes in the House, Tory former premier Theresa May urged Conservatives to ‘show that we are prepared to act when one of our own, however senior, is found wanting’.
Mr Johnson will be denied the pass to Parliament usually granted to former MPs after the sanction recommended by the cross-party committee was endorsed by 354 votes.
Mr Stride said Mr Johnson is in a ‘difficult situation’, adding to Today: ‘I think really the caravan has got to move on from Boris Johnson, with respect.’
A number of senior ministers including Penny Mordaunt backed the Privileges Committee report
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