London, Thanasis Gavos
As many as a dozen disgruntled lawmakers from the ruling Conservative Party have reportedly sent letters to the party expressing their disbelief in the face of Boris Johnson.
The information is conveyed by political editors of British newspapers, with the Daily Telegraph citing more than one MP. One of them, responsible for maintaining party discipline, admits that the “case” at the moment is that the letters have been submitted to the 1922 Commission.
According to the party’s statutes, up to 15% of the members of the parliamentary group submit a letter of no confidence, which would trigger a process of electing a new leader, only the signatory MPs and the chairman of the 1922 Commission, Sir Graham Brady, are aware of the letters they already have. submitted. Sir Graham declined to comment.
However, the same MP who spoke to the Telegraph stressed that the number of 50 letters required for an internal party election process based on the current parliamentary power of the Conservatives will not be collected. The MP added that nevertheless the development causes a “stress” in Downing Street.
The information comes after weeks of recorded dissatisfaction of many Conservative MPs, from various wings of the party, for alleged wrongdoings of Prime Minister Johnson, which according to some polls have given priority to the intention to vote in the opposition Labor Party.
The handling of the corruption scandal starring MP Owen Patterson is considered a turning point. Although the former minister had been found guilty of violating parliamentary rules because he had apparently pressured ministers to serve the interests of two companies from which he was paid as a consultant, Boris Johnson wanted to dismiss him by ordering his parliamentary group to support an extraordinary vote. system for monitoring the conduct of Members. Following strong reactions from the opposition and the press, the Prime Minister withdrew, leaving his MPs exposed and leading Mr Patterson to a glorious resignation.
A series of other controversial moves and decisions followed, such as the cancellation of the multiannual commitment to build a new high-speed rail line in the North East of England.
On Monday night, 18 Conservative MPs voted against and 68 abstained from voting on a government amendment to change the welfare financing system. This result has been perceived as a confirmation of the internal party dissatisfaction with the Prime Minister and his group of advisers, with voices for their replacement by more experienced technocrats.
A lawmaker told the Sun that “Boris Johnson is like Jose Mourinho, he was good a decade ago”.
The internal controversy in the face of the British Prime Minister culminated after his chaotic speech at the conference of the British Industry Association on Monday, when, among other things, Mr. Johnson paused for half a minute looking for the right order of his papers, making extensive reference to his experience. visiting the Peppa Pig theme park and imitating car sounds.
The appearance forced Downing Street to assure on Tuesday that the Prime Minister “has not lost”.
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