Boris on brink: Emergency debate TODAY as PM left fighting for job amid Tory MP outrage
BORIS JOHNSON faces the outrage of MPs of all party colours today as he struggles to move on from a row over allegations of Tory sleaze.
By DAN FALVEY – POLITICAL CORRESPONDENT07:22, Mon, Nov 8, 2021 | UPDATED: 15:09, Mon, Nov 8, 2021
A three-hour emergency debate will take place in the House of Commons today for MPs to debate accusations of Government corruption. Labour leader Sir Keir Starmer is demanding the Prime Minister “answer, apologise and act” over the claims that have engulfed Downing Street over the past week.
The Liberal Democrats, who secured the debate, have called for a statutory public inquiry into Mr Johnson’s administration.
Last week the Tories attempted to block an immediate 30-day Commons suspension of the MP Owen Paterson despite him being found to have broken Parliament rules.
The Prime Minister has since also faced renewed pressure over whether holidays in villas provided by friends were properly declared, and how the refurbishment of his Downing Street flat was funded.null
Even Conservative MPs have been left furious with the actions of No10 fearing it will damage the public’s trust in the Tory Party.
Over the weekend, Mr Johnson’s personal approval rating slumped to its lowest ever level.
An Opinium poll put the Prime Minister’s net approval rating at -20 percent, down from -16 a week ago.
The survey of 1,840 UK adults also indicated a drop of support for the party as a whole with the Tories leading Labour by just one percent.
Of those asked between November 5 and 6, 37 percent said they would vote Conservative at the next election compared to 36 percent for Labour.
The findings have added to fears among Conservative MPs that accusations of corruption are cutting through with the public.
One Tory MP said the Government needed to “get a grip” of the situation and urgently look to rebuild trust with the voters.
They said: “People expect – rightly so – the highest standards.”
Meanwhile, High Peak MP Robert Largan, one of the new generation of Tory MPs elected in 2019, told Times Radio yesterday: “In my view this was something that we got badly wrong and they need to fix it.”
Despite the growing anger as Mr Johnson both within his own party and across the political spectrum, the Prime Minister is thought to be planning to miss today’s emergency debate.
He is set to steer clear of the Commons to avoid facing MPs line up to attack him.