Tory MPs will be ready in sufficient numbers to force Boris Johnson out of Downing Street within weeks if he tries to dodge responsibility for rule-breaking parties at No 10, the Observer has been told.
While most Conservative MPs say they are waiting for a report into so-called “partygate” by the senior civil servant Sue Gray before deciding the prime minister’s fate, large numbers admit privately that their minds are effectively made up and that they are merely observing “due process”.
What has convinced many Tory MPs to act against Johnson if he or the Downing Street operation is criticised directly or indirectly by Gray – and he then tries to fight on – has been the furious reaction from their constituents to new revelations of partying, including two events late into the night at No 10, on the eve of Prince Philip’s funeral last April when such gatherings were forbidden.
An Opinium poll for the Observer will spread further alarm in Conservative ranks.
It
shows Labour taking a 10-point lead over the Tories, with Johnson’s
personal ratings collapsing to levels equivalent to Theresa May at her
lowest ebb. It also shows that 46% of Leave voters who backed the Conservatives
at the 2019 election say Johnson should resign, suggesting the
coalition he put together to win an 80-strong majority in parliament is
fracturing. …