Conservative MPs have been divided on a parliamentary committee’s criticisms of Boris Johnson’s conduct and its recommended punishments for the former prime minister.
The House of Commons will vote on Monday on the Privileges Committee’s report, which recommended that Johnson should have faced a 90-day suspension had he not already resigned in advance of its judgment and be banned from holding a pass to access Parliament.
MPs will be given a free vote, meaning they will not be ordered to toe party lines but will be able to vote according to their own individual views.
But some Johnson allies warned Tory MPs they could face deselection by their local Conservative associations if they back the motion, as Johnson remains popular with many grassroots members.
The sanctions proposed by the committee are expected to pass, with only a relatively small group of Johnson loyalists set to oppose the report’s findings, although many more Conservatives could simply not turn up.
‘Repeated Contempts’
In its final report on the Partygate scandal, published on Thursday, the Privileges Committee said Johnson committed “repeated contempts” of Parliament that merited a 90-day suspension.In addition to deliberately misleading Parliament over illegal parties held in Downing Street during COVID-19 lockdowns, Johnson has also been found guilty of attempting to undermine the democratic process and being “complicit in the campaign of abuse and attempted intimidation of the committee.”
Though his resignation means he will escape punishment, the committee recommended that he should be barred from having a parliament pass, which is normally available to former MPs.
The former prime minister hit out at what he called a “deranged conclusion,” accusing the committee of lying.
‘Definitely Not Defeated’
Cabinet minister David Davies said he believed the report had killed off Johnson’s hopes for a political comeback.Asked if Johnson’s career is now over, the Welsh Secretary told BBC’s “Question Time”: “I think it probably is. I’m not saying whether that’s a good thing or a bad thing. I don’t really see any way back for Boris.”
Sir Jacob Rees-Mogg, an arch-supporter of the former prime minister, said the 90-day suspension recommendation was “extraordinary,” and accused the committee of “deliberately trying to do damage to Boris Johnson.”
Talking to Sky News, he said the House of Commons will “inevitably” vote in favour of the report, “because you have the whole of the opposition against him … but you also have the Boris haters in the Conservative Party.”
Threat of Deselection
Bassetlaw MP Brendan Clarke-Smith and former Cabinet minister Sir Simon Clarke were among Johnson’s allies to indicate they would vote against the report, with the latter saying “this punishment is absolutely extraordinary to the point of sheer vindictiveness.”Johnson loyalist Nadine Dorries called for Tories who vote against Johnson to be kicked out of the party.
The former culture secretary, who announced her intention to resign as an MP after being struck off Johnson’s honours list, wrote on Twitter: “Any Conservative MP who would vote for this report is fundamentally not a Conservative and will be held to account by members and the public. Deselections may follow. It’s serious.”
Commons leader Penny Mordaunt called for calm.
She advised MPs to read the report and “to make their own judgments about it and take the task that is our privilege to do seriously and soberly.”
“It will be a painful process and a sad process for all of us,” she said, “but all of us must do what we think is right and others must leave us alone to do so.”
