Below is a list of Conservative MPs who are calling publicly for Boris Johnson to step down. Some others have demanded this, but subsequently said the Ukraine war meant it was not the right time.
Steve Baker
In a Commons speech on Thursday, the former Brexit minister said that while he had wanted to forgive Johnson for breaking Covid rules, the prime minister’s contrition “only lasted as long as it took to get out of the headmaster’s study”. Baker ended: “The prime minister now should be long gone … Really, the prime minister should just know the gig’s up.”
Mark Harper
Speaking in the Commons on Tuesday, the former chief whip said Johnson had not been straightforward about his actions and was now asking Tory MPs “to defend what I think is indefensible”. He added: “I am very sorry to have to say this, but I no longer think he is worthy of the great office he holds.” Harper said he had submitted a letter of no confidence.
Craig Whittaker
After Johnson and the chancellor, Rishi Sunak, were fined for breaching lockdown rules, the Calder Valley MP said both should “do the right thing and resign”. He told a Facebook session with constituents: “You can’t set the law of the lands and then break them as they have.”
Nigel Mills
The Amber Valley MP also called for Johnson and Sunak to resign after they were fined, and said he had submitted a no confidence letter for the prime minister. “I don’t think the prime minister can survive or should survive, breaking the rules he put in place and was on TV every few nights reminding us all that we should observe,” Mills said. “We have to have higher standards than that of people at the top. He’s been fined, I don’t think his position is tenable.”
Caroline Nokes
A consistent critic of Johnson, the former minister wrote to a constituent last week to say she had submitted a no confidence letter: “I have already been very clear that I believe the PM’s conduct fell far short of what my constituents have every right to expect. I do not need to write a letter of no confidence to the chair of the 1922 Committee, mine was in a very long time ago.”
Sir Gary Streeter
The veteran South West Devon MP was among a series of backbenchers who called for Johnson to go in February. Writing on social media, Streeter said he had submitted a no confidence letter: “I cannot reconcile the pain and sacrifice of the vast majority of the British public during lockdown with the attitude and activities of those working in Downing Street.”
Anthony Mangnall
The Totnes and South Devon MP also said in February that he had sent a no confidence letter, tweeting: “At this time I can no longer support the PM. His actions and mistruths are overshadowing the extraordinary work of so many excellent ministers.”
Tobias Ellwood
Speaking on the same day as Mangnall, the chair of the Commons defence committee said he had written a letter, telling Sky News: “I believe it’s time for the prime minister to take a grip of this; he himself should call a vote of confidence rather than waiting for the inevitable 54 letters to be eventually submitted.”
Peter Aldous
The long-serving Waveney MP was another to make his views known in February: “I have never taken such action before and had hoped that I would not be put in such an invidious position. Whilst I am conscious that others will disagree with me, I believe that this is in the best interests of the country, the government and the Conservative party.”
He said his letter remained on the table, but that after the war was over would be a better time to raise the question of Mr Johnson’s leadership.
Aaron Bell
The Newcastle-under-Lyme MP confirmed he had submitted a letter a few days after challenging Johnson during a Commons debate on the interim Sue Gray report on Downing Street parties. Bell recounted following strict lockdown rules for his grandmother’s funeral, adding: “Does the prime minister think I’m a fool?”
