Boris Johnson is in “real trouble” and a vote of no confidence in his leadership could arrive next week, former Conservative leader William Hague has predicted.
It comes amid a growing drip from Conservative lawmakers calling for the resignation of the Prime Minister following a report by senior official Sue Gray on the Partygate scandal.
Former Cabinet Minister Andrea Leadsom said in a letter to voters that there were “unacceptable leadership shortcomings that cannot be tolerated and are the responsibility of the Prime Minister”.
Although the deputy did not demand the resignation of Mr. Johnson said each Conservative “must now decide individually what is the right course of action that will restore confidence in our government.”
Lord Hague, the Conservative leader between 1997 and 2001, said the comments were “another indication” that the Conservative Party was “moving faster” towards a vote of no confidence.
He told Times Radio: “A leadership vote, which I said before could come next week, or at the end of June, a few more letters like this, and it will come next week.”
According to party rules, 54 MPs must write a letter expressing distrust of Johnson’s leadership to the chairman of the 1922 Conservative committee, Sir Graham Brady, for a vote to be triggered.
Referring to calls from MPs such as Sir Bob Neill urging the Prime Minister to step aside, Lord Hague stressed: “Boris Johnson has real problems.
“Sue Gray’s report has been one of those slow fuse blasts in politics. It’s still going on. A lot of people misinterpreted last week’s events, which means the problem is over.”
Former Conservative leader William Hague suggests the party “move faster” towards the vote of confidence
(PA)
Lord Hague, who oversaw the creation of the secret process for a vote of confidence in the party, added: “Actually, this is not the mood of the Conservative Party, which is very, very concerned about the content of this report “.
“I think the Conservative Party will have to resolve this one way or another, obviously because to be an effective party they have to unite behind the Prime Minister they have, or they have to decide to force it.”
“I think they are moving, either next week or towards the end of June, they are moving towards a vote. It seems so.”
Nearly 30 MPs have publicly called for Mr Johnson’s resignation, but due to the secretive nature of the process, only Sir Graham will know the true number of letters that have been sent.
Speaking to Sky News, Lord Stephen Parkinson, Arts Minister and former adviser to Theresa May, said it was “useless to speculate” on a vote of confidence “unless or until it happens”.
“Well, there’s a lot of speculation about the number of letters coming in and past experience shows, not only then but before, the only person who knows how many letters have been sent is the 1922 Committee Chairman. “, he said. dit.
“It’s pretty pointless to speculate on the numbers before then, it’s a distraction from government work and in government we’re making sure we grow the economy to help with the cost of living.”