North west London MP David Simmonds is among the Conservatives to have publicly called for the resignation of Prime Minister this week, following the release of Sue Gray’s report into the Partygate scandal.
Since the publication of the report, four new MPs have handed in letters of no confidence in Boris Johnson taking the public total to 19.
Simmonds, who has been serving as MP for Ruislip, Northwood, and Pinner since 2019, published a statement on Thursday 26th of May claiming it was time for Johnson to step down.
In his statement, Simmonds said: “It is clear that while the Government and our policies enjoy the confidence of the public, the Prime Minister does not.
“Accordingly, it is time for him to step down so that new leadership can take forward the important work of the Government in ensuring that our people and country prosper.”
Wimbledon MP Stephen Hammond also submitted a letter of no confidence yesterday.
Hammond said: “I have said consistently throughout I cannot and will not defend the indefensible.”
MP John Baron, for Basildon and Billericay, and MP Julian Sturdy, for York Outer, are the other two MPs who withdraw their confidence following the report.
According to the rules, Tory MPs can have a no-confidence vote if 15%, 54 out of 359 MPs write to the chairman of the backbench 1922 Committee.
Once the confidence vote is triggered, a secret ballot is held with 50% of Tory MPs needing to vote “no confidence” for the motion to pass.
If the Tory leader wins the no-confidence vote, the leader cannot be rechallenged for 12 months.
Featured image credit: David Woolfall via Wikimedia Commons under CC BY 3.0 license.
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