COVENTRY MESSAGE BOARD

Sir Ed Davey: Boris Johnson has got to go

Sir Ed Davey, the Liberal Democrat leader, has said Boris Johnson has "got to go" and accused him of a "Government of chaos".

"Families and pensioners are facing a cost of living crisis with no Chancellor, and a healthcare crisis with no Health Secretary. While these crises have ripped through our country the cabinet have spent months trying to save Boris Johnson’s skin.

"The Conservative Party hold full responsibility for this failed government. Ministers are wrapped up in sleaze and scandal while the country has suffered.

“People have been taken for granted for too long, and it's time for a change.”

Starmer: The British public 'will not be fooled'

It is clear the Government is "now collapsing", Labour leader Sir Keir Starmer has said.

"Tory Cabinet ministers have known all along who this Prime Minister is," he said in a statement. "They have been his cheerleaders throughout this sorry saga...

"In doing so, they have been complicit every step of the way as he has disgraced his office and let down his country. If they had a shred of integrity they would have been gone months ago.

"The British public will not be fooled. The Tory Party is corrupted and changing one man won't fix that."

Two UK junior-ranking government lawmakers quit in protest at Johnson

Two lawmakers from Britain's Conservative Party quit their junior-ranking government posts on Tuesday in protest at Prime Minister Boris Johnson's leadership.

Parliamentary private secretaries Jonathan Gullis and Saqib Bhatti posted resignation letters on social media. Parliamentary private secretaries assist ministers in their role.

Tory Party vice-chairman quits live on air
Bim Afolami said he could no longer support the Prime Minister after his handling of the row over Chris Pincher.

The vice-chairman of the Conservative Party has quit live on air, after saying he could no longer support the Prime Minister.

Bim Afolami, the MP for Hitchin and Harpenden, followed the Chancellor and the Health Secretary with his resignation, after Boris Johnson apologised for his handling of the row over scandal-hit former deputy chief whip Chris Pincher.

Mr Afolami said on Talk TV’s The News Desk with Tom Newton-Dunn: “(After) recent allegations about the former deputy chief whip and other things that have happened over recent weeks, I just don’t think the Prime Minister any longer has, not just my support, but he doesn’t have, I don’t think, the support of the party, or indeed the country any more.

“I think for that reason he should step down.”

Mr Afolami said he was “probably not” the party’s vice chairman “after having said that”.

Confirming he would be resigning, he continued: “I think you have to resign because I can’t serve under the Prime Minister – but I say that with regret because I think this Government has done some great things.

“I think the Prime Minister has a strong legacy in a huge range of areas, but I just think that when you’ve lost trust of people, and the Prime Minister asked at the confidence vote to be given time to instil that trust, I took that as many others did in the party.

“But I think it’s become clear, particularly after losing the support of two of his closest cabinet colleagues, that I think the time has come for him to stand down.”

rebbonk wrote:It looks like a few of Johnson's supporters have suddenly developed consciences.

PM sacks 'treacherous' Michael Gove



Michael Gove has been sacked by Boris Johnson as the Levelling Up, Housing and Communities Secretary, it has emerged.

Some 41 MPs have now quit their roles in Mr Johnson's Government since yesterday evening as dozens of backbenchers publicly withdrew their support.

It is understood Mr Gove was sacked via a phone call at around 9.15pm. Allies of Mr Johnson are claiming Mr Gove leaked to the press that he asked the Prime Minister to resign this morning.

"You can’t have that appalling behaviour when you’re claiming to be a part of the team. At least the other people had the decency to resign," one ally of the Prime Minister said.

"He has just always been treacherous, disloyal, self-obsessed, untrustworthy - pick whichever you like."

Three ministers at Mr Gove's department resigned today as they withdrew their support for Mr Johnson, as did two Parliamentary Private Secretary - with Danny Kruger quitting shortly after the sacking.

Nadhim Zahawi assembled team to set up secret leadership campaign



Nadhim Zahawi has been secretly working with close allies of Sir Lynton Crosby on a Tory leadership campaign for months, The Times has been told.

Despite becoming chancellor on Tuesday, Zahawi has been preparing behind the scenes a Crosby-approved plan to become prime minister, which includes cutting corporation tax and VAT and looking at stamp duty.

He is understood to be ready to activate the campaign immediately, and the team had been preparing a resignation letter centred on trust had he not been made chancellor.

Behind the leadership manoeuvres are strategists close to Crosby, the Australian election guru who helped Boris Johnson become London mayor twice and ran David Cameron’s 2015 campaign.

Mark Fullbrook, a founding partner in Crosby’s CT Group who worked on Johnson’s leadership campaign and has since set up his own firm, is running the strategy. Fullbrook, a former head of campaigning for the Conservatives, helped John Major to win in 1992 before setting up a public relations advice service for MPs. It was caught up in scandal after it emerged Tory MPs were claiming for its services on expenses.

Matt Jackson, another CT alumnus now working with Fullbrook, is handling the media. Mac Chapwell, head of campaigns at Fullbrook Strategies, is also involved, together with some of Zahawi’s own team.

Fullbrook is said to have been told by Crosby that Zahawi is the right successor for Johnson. Fullbrook is understood to have been involved for five to six months, Jackson for three or four.

The Times has been told that when Zahawi went into No 10 on Tuesday evening he saw holding the Treasury job, even if only in the short term, as a way to get his message across.

He is said to have pushed on cutting corporation tax, VAT dropping to 17.5 per cent and a fresh look at stamp duty. He also said the government had to “become Conservatives” again.

A minister who was in meetings with Johnson on Tuesday night confirmed that the prime minister wanted to appoint Liz Truss as chancellor but Zahawi got the job after threatening to quit. The minister, a close ally of the prime minister, said: “You could not have a starker example of the PM’s lack of authority. Nadhim has no followers, he could have easily lost him.” He predicted that the appointment of Zahawi would bring down the government. Another MP said Zahawi had indicated to them privately that he was planning to quit earlier in the day.

Boris Johnson resigns as Conservative leader after cabinet revolt



Boris Johnson has resigned as Conservative leader after a series of cabinet ministers told him he had lost the support of the party.

In a statement outside Downing Street, Johnson announced he was stepping down as party leader but said he planned to stay on as prime minister while the party picks his successor.

The statement brings an end to an extraordinary standoff between Johnson and cabinet ministers, including his new chancellor, Nadhim Zahawi, who were urging him to quit amid anger over the Chris Pincher affair and other scandals.

However, senior Conservative MPs are pushing back against the idea that Johnson should be allowed to stay in office for any longer and they want to see an interim leader in place such as Dominic Raab.

Support drained away from Johnson as more than 50 ministers and government aides resigned in a rolling walkout, while a slew of once supportive backbenchers declared no confidence in his leadership.

The revolt began on Tuesday evening with the resignations of Sajid Javid and Rishi Sunak as health secretary and chancellor respectively.

Johnson faced the prospect of a second vote of no confidence as soon as next week, with elections to the executive of the backbench 1922 Committee due to be held on Monday and likely to result in a change to the rules.

His exit follows three years of scandals, including fury over his handling of harassment allegations against Pincher, the deputy chief whip; a police fine over lockdown parties in Downing Street, attempts to change the standards system, and accusations of breaking international law.

Johnson became prime minister in 2019, taking over from Theresa May with a promise to “get Brexit done”. After winning an 80-seat majority in a general election in December 2019, and taking the UK out of the EU, the prime minister had his eye on multiple terms in No 10.

However, his leadership toppled under a wave of sleaze allegations and failure to tell the truth, contributing to the resignation of two of his ethics advisers, Sir Alex Allan and Lord Geidt.