Boris Johnson seen for first time since Partygate defence dossier published
Boris Johnson’s double parliamentary humiliation this week marked the “death throes” of the former prime minister’s “cult”, Tory MPs say.
The ex-prime minister’s political star is seen to be waning after his appearance before MPs investigating whether he intentionally misled the House of Commons over his understanding of parties in Downing Street during Covid lockdowns.
And Mr Johnson suffered a separate political embarassment yesterday as his attempted Commons revolt against Rishi Sunak’s new Brexit deal failed to garner significant support.
One senior Tory MP told The Independent that the Partygate inquiry and the Brexit vote were the “death throes of Boris cult”, saying the “dying rump” of around 20 to 30 loyalists left would not be able to rebuild support for him in the parliamentary party.
Separately, Lord Hayward, a Conservative pollster, told The Independent there was “no question the party would face defeat to Labour” if the Tories’ former leader was forced to fight for his Uxbridge constituency in the event that he were suspended.
After yesterday’s three-hour grilling of Mr Johnson, the seven-member privileges committee is now considering whether he deserves punishment.
