Tory Rebels Allegedly Mull Tweaking Party Rules to Unseat PM by Christmas

Boris Johnson managed to scrape through his MPs’ vote of no confidence on 6 June, but 148 of his Tories - 41 per cent of the total - refused to back him. The PM is still facing a probe by the Commons Privileges Committee into whether he misled parliament over “partygate".

Boris Johnson may have dodged a vote of no-confidence a couple of weeks ago, but his premiership is hardly safe, as rebel Tory MPs are devising a new plot to unseat him, reports the Mail on Sunday.

Furthermore, as the Conservative party's rules mean there can't now be another confidence vote in the Prime Minister until a year has passed since the last one, it is said that a number of MPs who entered the House in 2019, and the One Nation group are considering how to amend the rules so that they can pile more pressure on Johnson.

A six-month gap between confidence votes is purportedly seen by rebel MPs as providing “enough time to give [Mr Johnson] a chance for a reset, but is not long enough to drag it out. It would avoid a lengthy, drawn out, slow death,” a source was cited as saying.

Johnson won a vote of confidence in his leadership on 6 June. However, 148 Tory MPs voted against him because of the fall-out from “partygate”. The vote was initiated by the Tory backbench 1922 Committee after civil servant Sue Gray's report exposed 16 cases of COVID-19 lockdown violations by cabinet officials in and around Downing Street in 2020-21.

The PM himself was slapped with a Fixed Penalty Notice (FPN) fine after Scotland Yard wrapped up its investigation into the lockdown parties. Currently, Johnson is facing a Commons Privileges Committee inquiry into whether he lied to parliament over “partygate”.

Conservative party rules governing a confidence vote can be changed at any time by the 18-strong executive of the 1922 Committee. However, according to the report, at present those who favour the year-long gap between such votes outnumber those who want to ditch it.

Some rebels have allegedly hinted at the possibility of using the upcoming elections to the 1922 Committee to pack it with members more amenable to vote for change.

By that time, the Commons’ Privileges Committee might have concluded its probe. If the rebels’ plan was successful, the change in rules could result in Boris Johnson fighting to hold on to his premiership before Christmas.

One sceptical MP on the 1922 Committee was cited as saying such a change would be "Maoist".

“What next? Would we change the rules to have a vote every time we didn’t like a policy?” questioned the unnamed MP.

Johnson supporter, MP Sheryll Murray reportedly also raised concerns in a private WhatsApp messaging group about changing the rules.

Increased pressure on the Conservative PM is anticipated in the wake of the two looming by-elections.

In Wakefield, a former safe Labour seat that the Tories claimed in 2019, analysts predict a “monumental” swing back to Labour on 23 June. The second seat, a typically “safe” Conservative constituency in Tiverton in England's south-west, is being hotly contested by the Liberal Democrats.

If the confidence vote had taken place after two by-election losses “it may well have tipped the other way,” suggested some insiders.

Referring to the probe into Johnson by the Privileges Committee, one senior MP suggested the PM would become much more “vulnerable”.

“If the privileges inquiry finds against him, that’s a moment of danger. It will be difficult for him to command a majority of MPs. There could be a delegation going to Sir Graham Brady [to change the rules],” added a backbencher.

Sir Graham Brady, who chairs the 1922 Committee, earlier told Times Radio:

“It is possible that rules can be changed in the future. It’s important that we say the rule that is in place, and is likely to remain in place, is that there is a year’s period of grace.”