A Tory MP has submitted a letter of no confidence in the Prime Minister today (Wednesday) saying he cannot tell his constituents that “they should support our great party”. William Wragg told MPs in the Commons that he would like to vote with Labour to ban fracking because he is opposed to it.
However, because the vote is being treated as a “confidence motion” in Liz Truss’s embattled Government, Mr Wragg, who is vice chairman of the influential committee of Tory backbenchers, decided not to because he would lose the whip and his letter of no confidence in the PM would “fall”. He said he has submitted the letter to 1922 Committee chairman Sir Graham Brady today.
Mr Wragg, the MP for Hazel Grove in Stockport, went on to say that he was “personally ashamed” by what occurred after the mini-budget. “The lack of foresight by senior members of the Government, I cannot easily forgive,” he added.
He also said he found the “trashing” of the reputations of the Bank of England and the Office of Budget Responsibility during the Tory leadership contest to be “near Maoist in its nature”.
“Orthodoxy, Treasury orthodoxy came under attack,” he said. “I am a Conservative, I suppose orthodoxy goes hand in hand with that.”
Mr Wragg told the Commons “I oppose fracking” but added: “If I vote as I would wish, then I would lose the whip.
“I would no longer be vice chair of the 1922 Committee. I would no longer maintain a position as a chair of one of the select committees of the House.
“And indeed, because of that, my letter lodged with my honourable friend, the Member for Altrincham and Sale West (Sir Graham Brady), would fall, and I wish to maintain that letter with my honourable friend.”
The MP’s comments came during an opposition day debate on economic responsibility, which preceded the one on banning fracking. The 1922 Committee’s rules stipulate that a prime minister cannot face a confidence vote during their first year in office.
Outside the one-year grace period, 15% of the parliamentary party would have to submit letters of no confidence to committee chairman Sir Graham for a vote to be held.
