Wow-after what seemed like a decent PMQs David Davis essentially calls for Boris Johnson to resign, invoking Leo Amery to Chamberlain: "You have sat there too long for all the good you have done, in the name of God, go."
Full David Davis quote: "I've spent weeks and months defending the PM...but I expect my leaders to shoulder the responsibility for the actions they take. Yesterday he did the opposite of that...You have sat there too long for all the good you have done, in the name of God, go."
PM says he's not familiar with the famous quote DD has deployed, seems surprising given the PM is a biographer of Churchill.
Another harmonious day in the parliamentary Conservative party.
As luck would have it Bury South Labour Party has a zoom CLP meeting- am told attendance is high. Jonathan Ashworth is there, as well as someone from Labour’s regional office. Christian Wakeford is not.
Serious. Tory MP William Wragg accuses govt whips and No 10 of blackmail and breaking ministerial code. Says they’ve threatened to withdraw investment from MPs’ constituencies if they support no confidence. Also threatened with negative press stories.
Mr Wragg advises his colleagues to report such incidents to both the Speaker and the Metropolitan Police.
Leaving aside serious accusations about the ministerial code politically it’s very difficult for a government which says its guiding principle is to levelling up to be accused of threatening to withdraw investment from particular constituencies to save the Prime Minister.
A Conservative MP texts: “In terms of the management of this crisis and opinion with colleagues, the interview with @BethRigby today was a complete disaster.”
David Davis to @BBCcarolynquinn: “His comments yesterday that ‘I wasn’t told’- I’m afraid that isn’t what I was expecting from a leader...I expect leadership. Leadership means shouldering responsibility and he didn’t do it. Yesterday’s interview was an attempt to escape rbility.”
Email from Birmingham Northfield MP (a 2019er) @GarySambrook89 to a constituent about the PM. Says he “would expect anyone who is found to have broken the law to seriously consider their position in the Government and that includes the Prime Minister.”
Another email to a constituent, this time from @kevinhollinrake. Says “There is a requirement within the [ministerial code] that any significant breach would necessitate the rendering of a resignation, and this of course applies to the Prime Minister.”
Constituent letter from Levelling Up minister @NeilDotObrien not exactly a ringing endorsement of BJ: “I would like to assure you I have read the emails on this and understand the strength of feeling here and will be paying close attention to the report and response of the PM.”
1) Still some ambiguity. PM repeatedly says he wasn’t warned that it was against the rules/wasn’t work event. Does that mean he wasn’t warned/advised against it at all, in any sense? 2) Q PM will have to answer is why he had to be warned, wasn’t it obvious?
2 continued) not least because PM was the man proselytising those rules to the nation at the time and his staff, also at this event, were those supporting his doing so.
as I say, PM says specifically that no-one warned him it was against the rules/was non work event (or some variation thereof) repeatedly. Beth asks if there was ever a more general warning (or some variation thereof) and PM says the same thing.
NEW: PM denies he was warned about May 20th party- "No, nobody told me that what we were doing was against the rules, the event in question was something that wasn't a work event...When I went out into that garden I thought I was attending a work event."
@BethRigby: "To be clear you're saying Cummings is lying and his version of events is untrue?"
PM:"I can tell you categorically that nobody told me and nobody said that this was sthing that was against the rules or a breach of covid rules or something that wasn't a work event.."
PM:.."because frankly I can't imagine why it would have gone ahead or been allowed to go ahead. My memory, as I've said is going out into the garden for 25 minutes for what I implicitly thought was a work event and talking to staff, thanking staff..."