- Johnson Allies Support Him
- Report’s Findings and Conservative Dilemma
- Reactions to the Report
Some of Boris Johnson’s closest associates are rallying in support of the former prime minister before a vote on a damning report that found he misled MPs regarding Partygate.
Nadine Dorries is among a tiny group of Johnson supporters who intend to vote against the Privileges Committee’s report on Monday.
Many other Conservative lawmakers have not yet decided how they will vote or whether they will abstain.
The motion, which would deprive Mr. Johnson of his right to a parliament pass, is anticipated to pass easily.
Mr. Johnson resigned after the committee recommended a 90-day suspension from Parliament.
The report, which was released on Thursday morning, stated that the former prime minister intentionally misled Parliament about lockdown parties and committed multiple violations with his denials.
Mr. Johnson’s former chancellor, Prime Minister Rishi Sunak, has not indicated whether he will vote on the report.
Johnson loyalists Sir Simon Clarke, Nadine Dorries, and Sir Jake Berry will vote against the report’s findings.
Many more Conservative MPs will likely abstain or simply not show up for the vote, whereas Labour, the Liberal Democrats, and the SNP will all likely support the committee’s conclusions.
However, Conservative representatives still confront a dilemma regarding Monday’s vote.
Voting against the recommendations risks alienating local party activists who want Mr. Johnson out of office while voting in favour of them risks angering his supporters who believe he was hounded out of office.
Allies of Mr. Johnson warned Conservative MPs that their local parties may oppose their election attempts if they voted for the resolution.
Conservative Party leader Damian Green also stated that “deliberately abstaining does not reflect the gravity of the occasion.”
The former cabinet minister under Theresa May said he would vote “with a heavy heart” for the report.
Sir Jake, an ally of Mr. Johnson, stated that he was “virtually certain” that Parliament will approve the report on Monday.
Sir Jake said he would “surely be one of those in the no lobby opposing this report,” which he called “incorrect.”
According to Liberal Democrats, the report “speaks for itself” and should be approved without debate.
Sir Ed Davey criticized the amount of time the government spends debating Mr. Johnson’s behavior and stated that the Conservative party is functioning “in complete chaos.”
After a year-long investigation, the seven-member Privileges Committee determined that Mr. Johnson had “personal knowledge” of Covid-rule violations in Downing Street but had repeatedly failed to “proactively investigate the facts.”
Contrary to what he stated in the House of Commons at the time, the committee stated that officials had not informed Mr. Johnson that social distancing guidelines were always followed.
Martin Reynolds, one of Mr. Johnson’s most senior officials, stated in crucial evidence that he had advised the prime minister against making the claim, doubting whether it was “realistic.”
After seeing the news, Mr. Johnson resigned from the House of Representatives on Friday.
On the 20th of July, a by-election will be conducted in his Uxbridge and South Ruislip constituency.
In a scathing statement, he referred to the committee as a “kangaroo court” and its findings as “deranged” while accusing Harriet Harman, the committee’s Labour chairwoman, of bias.
The committee stated that the initially proposed sanction was increased “in light of Mr. Johnson’s conduct” over the past few days, which included violating confidentiality rules and “being complicit in the campaign of abuse and attempted intimidation of the committee.”
They stated that Mr. Johnson’s statement was “completely unacceptable.”
In response to the report, Labour’s deputy leader Angela Rayner stated that Mr. Johnson had “disgraced himself.” While Daisy Cooper of the Liberal Democrats stated that he had treated Parliament with “total contempt.” The leader of the SNP, Humza Yousaf, described it as a “dark day” for Westminster.
