All eyes in parliament were on Committee Room 10 last night as Tory MPs queued up to cast their vote on Boris Johnson’s premiership. Between 6:00 p.m to 8:00 p.m they trooped in and out, with Johnson himself turning up shortly after 7:00 p.m to confirm that he does, in fact, still retain confidence in himself as leader. The PM was flanked by Defence Secretary Ben Wallace – a favourite among the grassroots to succeed him – and his own Parliamentary Secretary Joy Morrissey.
Earlier in the day Johnson had made a last-ditch appeal to Conservative MPs at the 1922 committee, making a series of pledges across a range of areas, including on ‘family budgets’. He asked the assembled Tories ‘Why should the cost of childcare be pushed up by unnecessary rules on child-minding?’ So it was with some irony that Morrissey ended up being roped into childminding later that night after Johnson loyalist Mark Jenkinson brought along his kids to the vote, where they were barred from entering. Makes a change from babysitting the PM, perhaps.
Theresa May meanwhile preferred to do things in a more traditional style, turning up to cast her vote in a ballgown, gold necklace and sequin encrusted heels. This understated outfit was justified to nearby hacks on the grounds that the former Tory leader was off to a Jubilee dinner afterwards. No surprise to see the persistent Boris-basher in the mood for an early evening celebration…
After the results were declared by Sir Graham Brady at 9:00 p.m, loyalists and critics alike flocked to the parliamentary watering holes to commiserate and compare notes. But there was one last drama in store: for security discovered a suspicious bag on the terrace by the Thames. Another plot to take out the PM? Officers began herding backbenchers away from the unprotected item before it was claimed at the last moment by Conor McGinn, the recently departed shadow security minister. Whoops!
Elsewhere, the 1922 executive met in Portcullis House to plot late into the night. What will their chats mean for Johnson’s fate? ‘Such fun, we should do this every Monday night!’ remarked one Tory rebel to Mr S as he lurched away from the Red Lion to a waiting Uber cab. Boris will just be hoping other colleagues don’t share such enthusiasm for another repeat contest.
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