Boris Johnson has been mocked for “clinging on” to power in Downing Street as Tory MPs lose faith in his leadership.
SNP Westminster leader Ian Blackford called on the Tory leader to say if he had “considered quitting “before he’s pushed out the door” as Johnson faced another pounding at Prime Minister’s Questions.
With Labour’s Keir Starmer accusing Johnson of breaking promises on social care in England Blackford drove home the attack on the destabilised Prime Minister.
Blackford said: “The past few weeks have shown this Tory Government at its very worst. A Tory sleaze and corruption scandal on a scale not seen since the 1990s, Tory cuts and tax rises that will leave millions of people worse off, a litany of broken promises from HS2 to carbon capture, social care, the triple lock on pensions, and who can possibly forget the £20 billion bridge to Ireland evaporated into thin air.”
“At the centre of all this, is one man. A prime minister who is floundering in failure. So can I ask the Prime Minister, with his party falling in the polls, his colleagues briefing against him, has he considered calling it a day before he’s pushed out the door?”
The Prime Minister blustered a response: “I think what the people of this country want to hear is less talk about politics… and they want to talk about what the Government is doing for the people of Scotland, and what the Scottish Government is doing for the people of Scotland – which isn’t enough.”
Blackford picked up on reports that Tory MPs are writing letters demanding a leadership contest as he accused Johnson of failing to take responsibility.
He said: “This isn’t just about the chaos in the Conservative Party, it’s about the state of the United Kingdom under his failing leadership.
“The Prime Minister’s officials have lost confidence in him. Tory MPs have lost confidence in him. The letters are pouring in. And the public have lost confidence in him. Why is he clinging on when quite clearly he quite simply isn’t up to the job?”
Johnson was bolstered by more vocal cheering from the Tory backbenches after last week’s no show of support, but he was still roundly mocked by Keir Starmer.
The Labour leader asked "Is everything okay, Prime Minister?" as he attacked Johnson over “another broken promise” on social care in England.
Johnson suffered a Commons rebellion on Monday on the new plans to fund care for the elderly after what Tory MPs saw as a failure to deliver a “rail revolution” in the north of England.
Highlighting the string of broken manifesto pledges, the Labour leader asked: “Who knows if he’ll make it to the next election, but if he does, how does his expect anyone to take him and his promises seriously?”
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