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I thought these few things were quite interesting...
Posted at 13:05
Where is the support for Boris Johnson?
Cabinet ministers haven't exactly been bounding out of bed to defend the prime minister this morning.
The one person who was supposed to be on the airwaves defending the government this morning was former Conservative Party Chairman Oliver Dowden, whose resignation shocked the prime minister.
Usually, in times of crisis, loyal ministers rally around their leader on social media to prove that, at least publicly, their support is still intact.
Now, admittedly, these posts are normally pretty performative and often co-ordinated so that journalists like us don't swoop on them to speculate why they haven't shown their support.
However, the absence of even generic messages of support this morning is quite striking.
Five hours later, Chancellor Rishi Sunak posted on Twitter he was sad his colleague Oliver Dowden had resigned and "we all take responsibility for the results".
It hardly exuded confidence.
11:46
Michael Howard says Boris Johnson should go
Former Leader of Conservative Party Michael Howard has told BBC Radio 4's World at One that Boris Johnson should resign.
"The party, and more importantly the country, would be better off under new leadership."
"Members of the Cabinet should very carefully consider their positions," he told the programme.
On speculation about how the Conservatives could remove the PM - after Johnson won a no confidence vote on 6 June - Howard said "it may be necessary for the executive of the 1922 committee to meet and to decide to change the rules so another leadership [election] could take place".
Michael Howard was Tory party leader between 2003 and 2005, while his party was in opposition against Tony Blair's Labour government.
Posted at 11:55
Can Tory MPs get rid of Boris Johnson?
It's become a lot harder for the Conservative party to choose a new leader, considering they had a confidence vote to potentially remove Boris Johnson as leader on 6 June. This was organised by the 1922 Committee of backbench MPs.
Under current Conservative Party rules, any leader who survives a confidence vote is safe for another year.
Of course, even though Theresa May won a confidence vote in 2019, she still resigned a few months later.
It is unclear exactly what will happen now. If enough Tory MPs are moved to act by these two by-election results, it's possible Conservative Party rules could change the rules to allow another vote sooner.
What is significant is that Tory MPs are about to vote for who they want to lead the 1922 Committee – the institution with so much influence over the leadership.
If enough of them vote for candidates willing to change the rules on when another contest can be held, it could cause a huge headache for Johnson.
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/live/uk-politics-61789404
Posted at 13:05
Where is the support for Boris Johnson?
Cabinet ministers haven't exactly been bounding out of bed to defend the prime minister this morning.
The one person who was supposed to be on the airwaves defending the government this morning was former Conservative Party Chairman Oliver Dowden, whose resignation shocked the prime minister.
Usually, in times of crisis, loyal ministers rally around their leader on social media to prove that, at least publicly, their support is still intact.
Now, admittedly, these posts are normally pretty performative and often co-ordinated so that journalists like us don't swoop on them to speculate why they haven't shown their support.
However, the absence of even generic messages of support this morning is quite striking.
Five hours later, Chancellor Rishi Sunak posted on Twitter he was sad his colleague Oliver Dowden had resigned and "we all take responsibility for the results".
It hardly exuded confidence.
11:46
Michael Howard says Boris Johnson should go
Former Leader of Conservative Party Michael Howard has told BBC Radio 4's World at One that Boris Johnson should resign.
"The party, and more importantly the country, would be better off under new leadership."
"Members of the Cabinet should very carefully consider their positions," he told the programme.
On speculation about how the Conservatives could remove the PM - after Johnson won a no confidence vote on 6 June - Howard said "it may be necessary for the executive of the 1922 committee to meet and to decide to change the rules so another leadership [election] could take place".
Michael Howard was Tory party leader between 2003 and 2005, while his party was in opposition against Tony Blair's Labour government.
Posted at 11:55
Can Tory MPs get rid of Boris Johnson?
It's become a lot harder for the Conservative party to choose a new leader, considering they had a confidence vote to potentially remove Boris Johnson as leader on 6 June. This was organised by the 1922 Committee of backbench MPs.
Under current Conservative Party rules, any leader who survives a confidence vote is safe for another year.
Of course, even though Theresa May won a confidence vote in 2019, she still resigned a few months later.
It is unclear exactly what will happen now. If enough Tory MPs are moved to act by these two by-election results, it's possible Conservative Party rules could change the rules to allow another vote sooner.
What is significant is that Tory MPs are about to vote for who they want to lead the 1922 Committee – the institution with so much influence over the leadership.
If enough of them vote for candidates willing to change the rules on when another contest can be held, it could cause a huge headache for Johnson.
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/live/uk-politics-61789404
