Boris faces make-or-break PMQs as Red Wall MPs threaten no-confidence move

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Embattled Boris Johnson was gifted some breathing space on Partygate tonight as Tories closed ranks after an MP defected to Labour.

There are claims the flow of letters demanding a no-confidence vote has been stemmed after Christian Wakeford dramatically crossed the floor to join Keir Starmer.

Conservatives immediately focused their fury on the betrayal by the Red Wall MP, who has a wafer-thin majority of just 402 in Bury South.

Meanwhile, a full-frontal attack from ex-Cabinet minister David Davis at PMQs – telling Mr Johnson ‘In the name of God, go!’ – also seemed to backfire. 

A Cabinet minister told MailOnline: ‘The tribal nature of politics and the ”professional grump” nature of David seems to have cooled the mood,’ they said. 

Allies of Mr Johnson branded Mr Davis ‘a loner’, while another MP who has been increasingly frustrated at Mr Johnson’s performance said he appeared to be ‘back to his normal self’. 

‘If you are going to tell the boss to resign you do it privately,’ an ex-minister said. ‘He is not a popular character. He is very prickly.’ 

Amid what has been dubbed a ‘Pork Pie plot’ by 2019 intake politicians, Mr Wakeford already declared he had put in a letter of no confidence in Mr Johnson. 

And he was on the Opposition benches this afternoon wearing a Union Jack face mask. In a parting shot letter to the premier, Mr Wakeford branded his leadership ‘disgraceful’ and said he believed Labour would do more to tackle the cost of living crisis. 

Sir Keir goaded Mr Johnson in the Commons that any more defectors were ‘welcome’, saying the Tories had shown they were ‘incapable’ of governing the country.

‘The Labour Party has changed and so has the Conservative Party,’ he said. ‘He and anyone else who wants to build a new Britain built on decency, security … is welcomed in my Labour Party.’ 

But Mr Johnson, who was flanked by Rishi Sunak and Priti Patel on the front bench, shot back: ‘As for Bury South, let me say to him, the Conservative Party won Bury South for the first time in a generation under this Prime Minister on an agenda of of uniting and levelling up and delivering for the people of Bury South. We will win again in Bury South.’ 

Mr Johnson insisted he was not going to resign, urging people to ‘wait for the outcome’ of the inquiry by senior civil servant Sue Gray. 

The government has been ramping up ‘Operation Red Meat’ with crowd-pleasing policies in an effort to quell the mutiny.

And in the latest phase this afternoon Mr Johnson revealed that a swathe of Covid rules are going, with the work from home order immediately axed. 

Masks will also not be compulsory from next week, he said – in a move that was cheered by Tory MPs. 

Trying to sweep away the blunders over Partygate, Mr Johnson said: ‘This government has got the big things right.’  

Meanwhile, No10 will have been relieved that no other Red Wallers immediately followed Mr Wakeford out of the door. Bishop Auckland MP Dehenna Davison, one of the ‘Pork Pie’ rebels,  laughed off ‘bulls***’ suggestions she could switch to Labour or the Lib Dems.  

In the Commons, Mr Davis told Mr Johnson he had spent weeks defending him from ‘angry constituents’, including by reminding them of the ‘successes of Brexit’.

He said: ‘I expect my leaders to shoulder the responsibility for the actions they take. Yesterday he did the opposite of that. So, I will remind him of a quotation which may be familiar to his ear: Leopold Amery to Neville Chamberlain.

‘You have sat too long here for any good you have been doing. In the name of God, go.’

Amid gasps in the chamber, a seemingly shocked Mr Johnson replied: ‘I must say to him, I don’t know what he is talking about.

‘What I can tell him – I don’t know what quotation he is alluding to – what I can tell him is and I think have told this House repeatedly, I take full responsibility for everything done in this Government and throughout the pandemic.’ 

In his resignation letter, Mr Wakeford wrote: ‘My decision is about much more than your leadership and the disgraceful way you have conducted yourself in recent weeks.

‘However, I don’t believe all politicians are the same and I do believe in the power of politics to be a force for good. So does Keir Starmer. 

‘He has shown that integrity in the way he has led his party on issues that matter to me, not least the vital challenge of combatting antisemitism.’ 

Sir Keir said Mr Wakeford had always put his constituents ‘first’.

‘As Christian said, the policies of the Conservative government are doing nothing to help the people of Bury South and indeed are only making the struggles they face on a daily basis worse.’

It is the first defection from the Tories to Labour in 15 years, since Quentin Davies jumped ship. It comes amid claims that Mr Johnson wept as he begged MPs for more time last night.

The PM is alleged to have broken down in tears as he met wavering backbenchers yesterday – with one reportedly saying he ‘knows he is finished’.

No10 denied the claims amid a febrile atmosphere at Westminster, but it underlines the threat to his leadership as rebels gear up for a bid to oust him.

Ministers and loyalists have rounded round on a group of newly-elected MPs over a coup attempt branded the ‘Pork Pie Plot’ – because one of the plotters represents Melton Mowbray.

Around 20 MPs are said to have held a meeting yesterday lunchtime to coordinate sending letters required to spark a vote on ousting Mr Johnson. The revolt was fuelled by the premier’s car-crash interview in which he appeared close to tears when grilled about the litany of allegations about lockdown breaches in Downing Street. 

But speculation that the threshold of 54 letters to trigger a full no confidence vote would be reached imminently has proved unfounded. The 1922 chair Sir Graham Brady keeps the tally a closely-guarded secret.

Many MPs are keen to wait for the results of the Partygate probe being carried out by top civil servant Sue Gray – which is not expected until next week. 

As Mr Johnson tried to quell the chaos today:  

A YouGov poll has put Labour 32 points ahead of the Tories in London, raising the prospect of many MPs losing their seats. At the general election the Conservatives were only 16 points adrift in the capital;Foreign Secretary Liz Truss, one of the favourites to succeed Mr Johnson, has arrived in Australia for talks on defence and security ties;  There are claims that a ‘coughing’ Mr Johnson initially refused to isolate when he contracted Covid in March 2020, telling aides he was ‘strong as a bull’; An analysis by the Times of Conservative MPs’ Facebook pages, websites and emails suggests anger within the party is widespread, with 58 instances spotted of Mr Johnson being criticised since last week’s apology – with 16 of these coming from those elected just over two years ago;Mr Johnson is under huge pressure on another front as it emerged inflation spiked to 5.4 per cent in December, with families facing more pain as energy bills soar.  

Facing loud jeers from the government benches, Sir Keir joked they must have ‘brought their own booze’ to Parliament.

Berating Mr Johnson, Sir Keir said: ‘Last week he said he didn’t realise he was at a party and surprise, surprise no-one believed him.

‘So this week he has got a different defence – nobody warned him that it was against the rules.’

He added: ‘Why on earth does he think his new defence is going to work?’

Mr Johnson replied: ‘Of course, we must wait for the outcome of the investigation but I believe what I have said.’

Sir Keir asked the PM when he first became aware that any of his staff had ‘concerns’ about the gathering in the Downing Street garden on May 20, 2020.

Sir Keir said: ‘Not only did he write the rules, but some of his staff say they did warn him about attending the party on May 20, 2020.

‘Now, I have heard the Prime Minister’s very carefully crafted response to that accusation. It almost sounds like a lawyer wrote it. So, I’ll be equally careful with my question. When did the Prime Minister first become aware that any of his staff had concerns about the May 20 party?’

Mr Johnson replied ‘it is for the inquiry to come forward with an explanation of what happened’, adding: ‘I am afraid he simply must wait.’

No 10 said Ms Gray’s investigation was still ongoing.

Mr Johnson said in the Commons that the report was expected ‘next week’ but the Prime Minister’s official spokesman said: ‘The timing is rightly a matter for the investigation, my understanding is their work is still continuing.’

He said: ‘As you know, as part of the process, we will get the report at some point when that work is concluded, at this stage of the week that hasn’t happened. Obviously, we would update if that changed.’

The PM’s press secretary said he was ‘sorry’ to see Mr Wakeford leave the party.

Asked about reports Mr Wakeford was threatened by Tory whips with having his seat boundary changed, she said: ‘I’m not aware of that.’

A Labour spokesman said there is no need to hold a by-election in Bury South – despite Tories pointing out Mr Wakeford called for them to be made compulsory when people defect.

Westminster has been in a frenzy as the plotting revelations gathered pace. 

‘Boris broke down in tears in front of several of us yesterday. He kept saying sorry. He knows he’s finished,’ one MP told the Mail on Sunday’s Dan Hodges. 

One MP from the 2019 intake told MailOnline: ‘It feels close if not past the threshold.’

Another senior Northern MP said they thought the number of letters was around 30 currently, and is likely to reach 54 soon. ‘It could well be in next couple of weeks,’ they said. 

The scale of the damage being inflicted was underlined today with a poll showing the Conservatives 11 points behind in crucial Red Wall seats.

The survey by JL Partners for Channel 4 News – conducted in 45 seats in the North and Midlands that were won from Labour in 2019 – suggests a huge turnaround from the nine-point advantage they had then.

The figures leave the Tories on track to lose all but three of the constituencies they seized when Mr Johnson racked up his historic 80 majority.      

Defence minister James Heapppey was sent out to put the case for the PM this morning and said he ‘trusted’ the leader, but conceded he too had been ‘battered’ by voters.

‘I choose to believe what the Prime Minister has said. But I know that that’s not good enough for many of my constituents,’ he said. 

Mr Heappey said: ‘I think everybody in Government, everybody in Parliament, is acutely concerned about what has happened and the reaction of the public.

‘Our boss is not the Prime Minister. Our boss is those who send us to Westminster to represent us and they are furious at what they have heard, and so it doesn’t surprise me in the slightest that every single member of the Government, every single member of the party, is balancing those two loyalties.’

Mr Heappey effectively put Mr Johnson on notice that his support is contingent on the conclusions of Ms Gray.

‘He stood at the despatch box the other day and he gave an account of himself that I can understand and that I accept,’ the minister said.

‘If Sue Gray comes out and says something different then we’re in a different place and I’m happy to come back and reflect on my feelings then.’

Senior party sources last night identified Bishop Auckland MP Dehenna Davison and fellow Tory Alicia Kearns as ringleaders, while Gary Sambrook from Birmingham Northfield and Chris Loder from West Dorset are also thought to have had prominent roles. 

The involvement of Ms Kearns, MP for Melton Mowbray, led to the coup attempt being dubbed the ‘Pork Pie Plot’.

In a bid to quell the unrest, the PM held meetings with groups of the 2019-intake in his Commons office last night, with claims he desperately asked: ‘What do I need to do?’

Former Scottish Tory leader Baroness Ruth Davidson said she believed it is a matter of ‘when’ not ‘if’ Mr Johnson goes.

‘I certainly think from colleagues that are members of parliament in the House of Commons and and this is what decides when a Conservative Prime Minister goes against their will, that they’ve moved their mindset now from if to when,’ she told Times Radio. 

Mr Wakeford became the seventh Tory to announce he had submitted a letter of no confidence to party shop steward Sir Graham Brady overnight – although he is now off the list. 

The plotters are said to have discussed submitting their letters en masse today. 

By yesterday, most had returned to Westminster with their ears ringing from complaints levelled at the PM by their angry constituents.

And although many Tory MPs owe their positions to the landslide 2019 general election victory, the figure they saw on loop on their TVs and mobile phone screens all afternoon looked under renewed pressure.  

A 2019 Tory MP present at the meeting told the Telegraph: ‘Did everyone talk about being angry? Yes. Do people think this is potentially terminal? Yes. Are people thinking about what’s going to happen to our party in the coming months? Yes. Are there people looking to move? Of course they are. Do I think there’s a chance that a lot of people could put their letters in? Yes, I really do.’ 

Another told the Times that MPs expressed ‘exasperation’ over the parties, and that the fact one of them took place on the eve of Prince Philip’s funeral had ‘taken them over the edge’. 

There is talk that a group of MPs could hand them in en masse after Prime Minister’s Questions today in a dramatic gesture that could lead to a confidence vote being held within days.

Yet others are concerned that if a ballot is held before the full facts of the ‘partygate’ investigation by Sue Gray are known, those still waiting on her judgment could back Mr Johnson then leave him protected from further challenge for a year.

And some believe that even if the PM is exonerated, Dominic Cummings will continue to publish damaging allegations. ‘It’ll be death by a thousand blogs,’ said a source.

In response, ministers were outraged because the rebellion came as Mr Johnson was poised to end Covid Plan B measures and figures showed a ‘jobs miracle’ – with unemployment down to within a whisker of pre-pandemic levels.

A senior Tory source accused Miss Davison, who presents a TV show with former Ukip leader Nigel Farage, of ‘madly whipping up the Red Wallers’ against the PM.

The source also accused the plotters of hypocrisy, claiming that Miss Davison held regular drinking sessions for colleagues in her office.

A Cabinet minister accused new MPs of panicking over a slump in the polls, adding: ‘David Cameron and George Osborne were 13 points behind in the polls for three years. As Thatcher said if you aren’t behind in the polls mid term you aren’t working hard enough as a government.’

Another described the plot as ‘pretty sickening’, adding that many of the plotters were elected because of Mr Johnson – ‘most of them are a load of ******* nobodies’.

However, in a sign of the toxicity enveloping the party last night, a Tory sympathetic to the plotters hit back, saying: ‘This is belittling of many MPs that represent people who suffered throughout Covid. If No 10 are looking to repair relations with the new intake after Paterson this is not it.’

On a day of furious briefing and counter-briefing, a senior Tory source claimed that Work and Pensions Secretary Therese Coffey had been involved in agitating against Mr Johnson.

Miss Coffey, who had a bust-up with the PM at Cabinet over the future of the BBC licence fee yesterday, denied involvement. No 10 also said the claim of disloyalty ‘did not represent the view of the Prime Minister’.

A Tory source noted that Ms Davison, Ms Kearns and Ms Coffey are all close allies of potential leadership candidate Liz Truss.

The Foreign Secretary has arrived in Australia and an ally said that any plotting was ‘not at her behest’, adding: ‘She is 100 per cent behind the PM.’ 

The plot came as Tory whips struggled to contain anger over the so-called ‘Partygate’ controversy.

Mr Johnson yesterday broke cover after a self-imposed period of Covid isolation to repeat that he wanted to ‘humbly apologise to people for misjudgments that were made’ for allowing alleged parties to take place in No 10 during lockdown.

He insisted that he believed a ‘bring your own booze’ gathering in the garden at the height of lockdown had been a ‘work event’.

And he appeared emotional as he issued a public apology to the Queen over revelations that No 10 staff held two raucous parties on the eve of Prince Philip’s funeral, where Covid rules meant she had to sit alone.

Breathing heavily behind a mask, he repeatedly declined to say whether he would resign if it was proved he intentionally misled parliament.

His comments were contradicted in the latest blog by Dominic Cummings, the PM’s former chief adviser, whose priority now appears to be bringing down his former boss.

Mr Cummings wrote: ‘The events of 20 May alone, never mind the string of other events, mean the PM lied to parliament about parties.’ While Mr Johnson repeated his humble and sincere apologies, his defence that ‘no one warned him’ provoked anger.

His downbeat performance, which was designed to show humility, appeared to harden the mood against him among some Tory MPs.

One former Cabinet minister said: ‘If the PM really wants to fight and survive then there is still a route to doing that. But he will have to fight – and it looked like the fight had gone out of him.’