UK’s Boris Johnson buys time with ‘partygate’ apology, but grip on power is precarious
- UK prime minister apologises for party at his official residence during Britain’s first lockdown
- Boris Johnson’s political opponents and senior figures in Conservative party say he should resign
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Boris Johnson apologises for attending ‘work’ party during Covid-19 lockdown
Opposition politicians repeatedly called on him to resign during a heated session of Prime Minister’s Questions in parliament on Wednesday. By contrast, Tory benches were subdued. It was a sign that Johnson’s apology was just enough to stem the mutinous mood among his MPs.
Following his mea culpa, most Tory MPs interviewed by Bloomberg said they would now wait for the findings of a formal probe into the pandemic rule-breaking party - and other Downing Street gatherings - before deciding on any next steps. It would take 54 of them, or 15 per cent of the total, to trigger a vote on Johnson’s future.
Only a handful have broken ranks. Scottish Tory leader Douglas Ross, party veteran Roger Gale and William Wragg, a member of the executive of the influential 1922 committee of rank-and-file Conservatives, all publicly called for Johnson to resign.
“It’s difficult enough for colleagues,” Wragg told the BBC Radio 4. “They’re tired, they’re frankly worn out of defending what is invariably indefensible.”