Boris Johnson being dumped as Conservative leader is now a question of “when, not if”, according to senior Tory MP.
Tobias Ellwood told his party colleague to “stop drinking the Kool Aid” and prepare to jettison Johnson after many of them refused to go through the division lobby in support of the Prime Minister on Thursday.
Johnson, who is on a trade visit to India, had to abandon plans to kick out a Labour vote on referring him to a parliamentary inquiry over misleading the Commons after party managers faced a mutiny.
In a humiliating U-turn the government ditched a plan to kick a decision on the inquiry into the long grass, leaving Johnson to try and explain that was his intention all along.
With reports that up to six government Ministers had refused to toe the party line Elwood, who chairs the Commons defence select committee, said Conservative MPs had to realise that the PM was no longer a vote-winning asset.
He said: “All MPs are deeply troubled by what the party is now going through and what to do next, given the huge credit you must give to Boris Johnson in bringing the party so far.
“But we must stop drinking the Kool-Aid that’s encouraging us to think this is all going to disappear and that we can all move on.”
Ellwood said: “I predicted a steady trickle of letters of no confidence, of resignations and that is now happening.
“I fear it’s now when, not if, a vote of confidence takes place, as sadly the absence of discipline, of focus, of leadership in Number 10, has led to this breach of trust with the British people and it’s causing long-term damage to the party’s brand.”
But with Johnson vowing to lead the party into the next general election Northern Irish Secretary Conor Burns said there was “no question of the Prime Minister going”.
Burns said many of Johnson’s critics had never liked him.
He said: “There are a number of colleagues across Parliament who have never really supported the Prime Minister."
“If the Prime Minister stepped off Westminster Bridge and walked on top of the water they would say he couldn’t swim. That is a fact."
“What the Prime Minister is saying is ‘I led you to that victory, I have got business I want to do’.
He said Johnson was confident that he would be cleared once the full facts were made public.
Burns added: “He remains confident that when people can see the full context of what happened it will be clear that he was straightforward, he said to the House in good faith that he believed the rules were followed.
“He is looking forward to this ending. He is looking forward to drawing this to a conclusion, for it to be examined fully so that we can move on to the things people are genuinely concerned about.”
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