Last night MPs agreed Boris Johnson had misled them over parties held during coronavirus lockdowns in Downing Street.
A majority of 354 MPs voted to back the damning Privileges Committee report on the Partygate investigation.
But seven MPs still voted against the report released last week – suggesting they still support the actions of the former prime minister.
Those MPs were:
- Bill Cash (Stone, Staffordshire)
- Nick Fletcher (Don Valley, Doncaster)
- Adam Holloway (Gravesham, Kent)
- Joy Morrissey (Beaconsfield, Buckinghamshire)
- Karl McCartney (Lincoln)
- Desmond Swayne (New Forest West, Hampshire)
- Heather Wheeler (South Derbyshire)
This is despite Mr Johnson previously asking his allies to abstain from the vote, arguing the sanctions had ‘no practical effect’. But some claimed he did this as he didn’t want to reveal the low level of support left for him.
A sizeable group decided to abstain, with no vote recorded from 225 MPs who were mostly members of the Conservative Party.
The report recommended Mr Johnson be suspended from the house for 90 days, which would have triggered a by-election in his constituency of Uxbridge in west London.
Some 118 out of 352 Tory MPs voted to support the report, including seven cabinet ministers: Alex Chalk, David TC Davies, Simon Hart, Gillian Keegan, Penny Mordaunt, Victoria Prentis and Chloe Smith.
Notably, current prime minister Rishi Sunak abstained from voting – even though ex-PM Theresa May did not, and chose to back the sanctions.
Opposition parties criticised the current PM for failing to do the same as Ms May.
Liberal Democrat deputy leader Daisy Cooper said: ‘Tonight Rishi Sunak committed a cowardly cop-out. His failure to vote says all you need to know about this Prime Minister’s lack of leadership.
‘Sunak promised integrity yet when push came to shove, he was too weak to even turn up.’
A Labour Party spokesperson said: ‘Rishi Sunak is too weak to lead a party too divided to govern and working people are paying the price.
‘Rather than distance himself from his disgraced predecessor, Rishi Sunak has repeatedly demonstrated he’s just more of the same Conservative failure we’ve had to put up with for 13 years now. It’s time for a change.’
The Times reported Mr Johnson wants to ‘de-escalate tensions’ with Mr Sunak.
A source close to Mr Johnson said: ‘He’s in watching and waiting mode. But all of this is conditional on the Sunak government leaving him alone.’
Mr Sunak claimed he did not reveal his view on the report’s conclusions was because he ‘wouldn’t want to influence anyone in advance’ of the vote.
He said he respected the committee, but that it was ‘a matter for Parliament and members as individuals’ rather than government.
The PM’s spokesperson said he had afternoon meetings yesterday, including hosting his Swedish counterpart Ulf Kristersson.
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