London Daily

Focus on the big picture.
Thursday, Jul 24, 2025

Tory MPs poised to send letters of no confidence in PM after ‘partygate’ report

Tory MPs poised to send letters of no confidence in PM after ‘partygate’ report

Senior backbenchers to move as a collective to force no confidence vote
A new raft of Conservative MPs are poised to send letters of no confidence in Boris Johnson when the long-awaited “partygate” report is published, as the prime minister was pressured by his supporters to oversee a complete clearout of No 10.

The Guardian has learned that senior backbenchers are to move as a collective to force a no-confidence vote in Johnson once senior civil servant Sue Gray releases her findings, which on Tuesday helped trigger a criminal inquiry.

Newly elected MPs wounded by the publicising of the so-called pork pie plot are understood to have remonstrated with more senior colleagues for leaving them exposed. But a consensus has now formed among more experienced MPs that Johnson should face a no-confidence vote.

“It’s the white, middle-aged backbencher he has to watch,” one MP said. “People who feel strongly about their morals and to whom this prime minister can’t offer anything personally.”

Among those who are prepared to move against Johnson are more than two dozen former ministers – there are more than 70 in that category in total – according to the rebels’ latest calculations.

There will be no group statement from the One Nation group of centrist Tories, which has more than 100 members. Instead, MPs said letters were more likely to come from smaller groups of like-minded MPs moving together.

A consensus is also forming among Johnson’s allies that he cannot rely on the support of all his ministers, several of whom have expressed serious concerns to colleagues.

While the prime minister’s supporters were bullish that the “window has passed” for his critics to make their move, several frontbenchers told the Guardian they were privately concerned about Scotland Yard launching its own investigation.

One said: “Some of us are still waiting to make up our mind.” Another admitted: “If there’s any evidence of criminal wrongdoing by the prime minister, he can’t stay in post.”

Gray’s report was said to be close to completion on Tuesday night, but there has been no official explanation for why it has not yet been sent to Johnson.

On Wednesday night the business secretary, Kwasi Kwarteng, indicated on ITV’s Peston that the report might not be out until next week.

A No 10 source denied Downing Street was pressuring Gray to publish a separate summary rather than the full findings. They said conversations were ongoing within the Cabinet Office over the Metropolitan police investigation and insisted there had not been an order made to delay the report’s publication.

If Gray’s report is published on Thursday or Friday, Johnson is prepared to go to the Commons with it – despite the potential disruption of MPs’ plans in their constituencies.

Behind the scenes, Johnson’s supporters are planning for how to avoid a no confidence vote once the report is released, or reduce the numbers who will vote against him if one is called.

Ideas are being discussed to convince backbenchers that genuine changes will be made to key parts of the government machine, including a clearout of some No 10 political advisers.

In a bid to restore discipline after a series of rebellions, the government whips office has also been tipped for an overhaul in the run up to the February recess.

The chief whip, Mark Spencer, could be given a new job as an environment minister, with Chris Pincher – one of the main five MPs running a shadow whipping operation to save Johnson’s premiership – tipped as a potential replacement.

Johnson’s allies hope the parliamentary recess beginning 10 February will act as a “firebreak” to calm colleagues down, with plans being drawn up for the prime minister to head away on trade trips to Australia and Japan.

The shadow whipping operation is meeting up to three times a day – twice in-person and once virtually. It is organising in a nearly 100-strong WhatsApp “support group”. However there are fears some “spies” have infiltrated, and are briefing those who would back the chancellor, Rishi Sunak, in a leadership contest.

Senior members of the operation were said to have been told that two people who had submitted no-confidence letters had withdrawn them. One minister said the message being given to colleagues was: “Unless you’re gonna kill the guy, back off – he’s going nowhere.”

Keir Starmer used prime minister’s questions on Wednesday to press Johnson to resign if he misled parliament by insisting no Covid rules were broken. He said: “Frankly, the public have made up their minds. They know the prime minister is not fit for the job.”

Johnson insisted he could not comment until Gray’s report was published, and was showered with helpful questions from Tory MPs about the vaccine rollout, jobs and Brexit.

Afterwards, he spoke to more MPs one-to-one in his Commons office. One said they had requested a meeting with the prime minister in summer 2020, which was suddenly granted on Wednesday.

But a long-serving MP said they had been appalled by Johnson’s attitude in their face-to-face conversations, which had enforced their position that the prime minister did not understand the seriousness of the situation.

Mark Logan, elected as a Tory MP in 2019 for Bolton North East, told Sky News he had spoken to Johnson recently and made clear “there has to be a huge change” of heart by the prime minister as well as the “approach and the infrastructure around him”.

Some Johnson critics have said there are circumstances where a no-confidence vote would have to be paused in a volatile political environment.

Representations would be made to Brady if tanks roll across the Ukrainian border that the vote of no confidence should be delayed for four weeks. “It’s not ideal timing for a leadership contest,” one of those who is considering putting a letter in admitted.

Meanwhile, senior civil servants fear the blame will be pinned on them for the more than a dozen social gatherings reported to have taken place in No 10 and across Whitehall.

Those civil servants who could be in the line of fire include the cabinet secretary, Simon Case, and the prime minister’s principal private secretary, Martin Reynolds, who invited 100 Downing Street staff to a “bring your own booze” party in the first lockdown.
Newsletter

Related Articles

0:00
0:00
Close
Politic is a good business: Barack Obama’s Reported Net Worth Growth, 1990–2025
Thai Civilian Death Toll Rises to 12 in Cambodian Cross-Border Attacks
TSUNAMI: Trump Just Crossed the Rubicon—And There’s No Turning Back
Over 120 Criminal Cases Dismissed in Boston Amid Public Defender Shortage
UN's Top Court Declares Environmental Protection a Legal Obligation Under International Law
"Crazy Thing": OpenAI's Sam Altman Warns Of AI Voice Fraud Crisis In Banking
The Podcaster Who Accidentally Revealed He Earns Over $10 Million a Year
Trump Announces $550 Billion Japanese Investment and New Trade Agreements with Indonesia and the Philippines
US Treasury Secretary Calls for Institutional Review of Federal Reserve Amid AI‑Driven Growth Expectations
UK Government Considers Dropping Demand for Apple Encryption Backdoor
Severe Flooding in South Korea Claims Lives Amid Ongoing Rescue Operations
Japanese Man Discovers Family Connection Through DNA Testing After Decades of Separation
Russia Signals Openness to Ukraine Peace Talks Amid Escalating Drone Warfare
Switzerland Implements Ban on Mammography Screening
Japanese Prime Minister Vows to Stay After Coalition Loses Upper House Majority
Pogacar Extends Dominance with Stage Fifteen Triumph at Tour de France
CEO Resigns Amid Controversy Over Relationship with HR Executive
Man Dies After Being Pulled Into MRI Machine Due to Metal Chain in New York Clinic
NVIDIA Achieves $4 Trillion Valuation Amid AI Demand
US Revokes Visas of Brazilian Corrupted Judges Amid Fake Bolsonaro Investigation
U.S. Congress Approves Rescissions Act Cutting Federal Funding for NPR and PBS
North Korea Restricts Foreign Tourist Access to New Seaside Resort
Brazil's Supreme Court Imposes Radical Restrictions on Former President Bolsonaro
Centrist Criticism of von der Leyen Resurfaces as she Survives EU Confidence Vote
Judge Criticizes DOJ Over Secrecy in Dropping Charges Against Gang Leader
Apple Closes $16.5 Billion Tax Dispute With Ireland
Von der Leyen Faces Setback Over €2 Trillion EU Budget Proposal
UK and Germany Collaborate on Global Military Equipment Sales
Trump Plans Over 10% Tariffs on African and Caribbean Nations
Flying Taxi CEO Reclaims Billionaire Status After Stock Surge
Epstein Files Deepen Republican Party Divide
Zuckerberg Faces $8 Billion Privacy Lawsuit From Meta Shareholders
FIFA Pressured to Rethink World Cup Calendar Due to Climate Change
SpaceX Nears $400 Billion Valuation With New Share Sale
Microsoft, US Lab to Use AI for Faster Nuclear Plant Licensing
Trump Walks Back Talk of Firing Fed Chair Jerome Powell
Zelensky Reshuffles Cabinet to Win Support at Home and in Washington
"Can You Hit Moscow?" Trump Asked Zelensky To Make Putin "Feel The Pain"
Irish Tech Worker Detained 100 days by US Authorities for Overstaying Visa
Dimon Warns on Fed Independence as Trump Administration Eyes Powell’s Succession
Church of England Removes 1991 Sexuality Guidelines from Clergy Selection
Superman Franchise Achieves Success with Latest Release
Hungary's Viktor Orban Rejects Agreements on Illegal Migration
Jeff Bezos Considers Purchasing Condé Nast as a Wedding Gift
Ghislaine Maxwell Says She’s Ready to Testify Before Congress on Epstein’s Criminal Empire
Bal des Pompiers: A Celebration of Community and Firefighter Culture in France
FBI Chief Kash Patel Denies Resignation Speculations Amid Epstein List Controversy
Air India Pilot’s Mental Health Records Under Scrutiny
Google Secures Windsurf AI Coding Team in $2.4 Billion Licence Deal
Jamie Dimon Warns Europe Is Losing Global Competitiveness and Flags Market Complacency
×