Boris Johnson is facing the wrath of senior Conservatives frustrated at his leadership and doubtful about his usefulness as an electoral asset in the aftermath of a difficult set of results for the party.
David Simmonds, MP for Ruislip
After losses in Johnson’s backyard, Simmonds said: “Clearly the prime minister has difficult questions to answer. People were broadly positive about the government’s policies but they are not happy with what they’ve been hearing about Partygate. He needs to [front] up and answer questions.”
Roger Gale, MP for North Thanet
The backbencher, who submitted a letter of no confidence in Johnson several months ago, suggested it was time for a leadership contest. He said: “I was, as you know, not in favour of a leadership challenge in the middle of a war, but two things have happened: one, it’s now clear, I think, that the hostilities in Ukraine are going to be prolonged; and second, in a sense what Roger Gale thinks is immaterial because this movement has got a life of its own now – it may become an unstoppable tide.”
Asked if he would say Johnson should go regardless of whether an interim administration could be established in light of the Ukraine crisis, Gale said: “Yes. I think so. I would.”
John Mallinson, leader of Carlisle city council
After Labour won 30 of the 46 seats on the newly formed Cumberland council while the Conservatives managed just seven, the leader of one of the councils it subsumed voiced his frustration at Johnson.
Mallinson said: “I think it is not just Partygate, there is the integrity issue. Basically I just don’t feel people any longer have the confidence that the prime minister can be relied upon to tell the truth. I don’t think any one person is responsible for everything, but he does seem to be attracting a lot of unrest and ill-feeling at the moment.”
Asked if he thought that feeling would carry on until the next general election, Mallinson said: “I think if things remain the same it will, I think we’ll pay for it.”
He said Johnson would be a “poor option” to lead the Conservatives into the next general election. “People seemed preoccupied with national issues, the cost of living crisis is weighing very heavily on people’s minds, and I have to say that issues like Partygate made it increasingly difficult to focus people’s minds on local issues.”
Ravi Govindia, leader of the Wandsworth Conservatives
Having been deposed as leader of the Tories’ flagship council, Govindia made clear that Johnson’s leadership had been a factor in voters flipping the council to Labour’s control. He said: “Let’s not be coy about it, of course national issues were part of the dilemma people were facing.”
Gavin Barwell, Conservative peer
A former Croydon MP who went on to become Theresa May’s chief of staff, Barwell said the local election results in London were “catastrophic” and should be a wake-up call. “Wandsworth and Westminster were flagship councils. We held them during the Blair honeymoon. We held them during austerity. We held them under Theresa May. Losing them should be a wake-up call for the Conservative party.”
Simon Bosher, leader of Portsmouth city council’s Conservative group
After the Tories lost four council seats in Portsmouth, Bosher called for Johnson to “take a good, strong look in the mirror”. He said: “I have to say the results have been extremely disappointing. Not totally unexpected, I have to say. We have actually lost some very good working community councillors this evening.
“Personally I think those in power in Westminster really do need to take a good, hard look in the mirror because it is the rank and file grassroots members they rely on that are actually losing their seats tonight and it is pretty disappointing across the board.”
Asked if he was talking about the prime minister, Bosher said: “I think Boris does need to take a good, strong look in the mirror as well because I think he needs to look at those people that we have lost tonight … because those are people that are actually bearing the brunt on the doorstep of behaviour of what’s been going on in Westminster.”
