London
\nA growing number of senior Conservatives in the UK are advancing plans to oust Boris Johnson as Tory leader and prime minister \u201csooner rather than later\u201d, the Guardian reports.
\nAmid warnings about the effects of the Partygate scandal on their electoral chances, high-ranking MPs are urging their colleagues not to dither over concerns about the succession or Russia-Ukraine war, but, instead, to strike before it is too late.
\nSome MPs who have privately backed Johnson until now believe the game is up and that he is on borrowed time. MPs say several potential successors are stepping up campaign preparations and canvassing support \u2013 including Liz Truss, Penny Mordaunt and Jeremy Hunt.
\nThe development comes on the heels of all parliament parties\u2019 agreement to put Johnson under investigation to determine whether he lied to parliament over lockdown-breaking parties at his office, when the country was under strict COVID-19 restrictions.
\n\u201cI have seen enough to reach a conclusion that the prime minister needs to go,\u201d Mark Harper, the former Tory chief said. He urged his colleagues to be confident for selecting a new leader who \u201ccan set out an attractive proposition and ensure we can win the next election.\u201d
\nMany Tory MPs are waiting for the results of the 5 May local elections before deciding whether to send a formal letter of no confidence in Johnson to the chair of the backbench 1922 Committee, Graham Brady. If Brady receives 54 or more such letters, a vote of confidence has to be held, and if Johnson loses, he must step down.
\nJohnson has become the first sitting British prime minister to be fined for breaking the law when he was fined by the Metropolitan Police over the birthday gathering for him in No. 10 in June 2020.
\nAt any time, Johnson could be fined again for other gatherings held in Downing Street that broke his own government\u2019s laws. And the final report by a senior civil service officer into the Partygate scandal could be so damning that Conservative poll numbers slump even further.
\nOn Thursday, the Metropolitan police announced it would not provide any updates on fixed penalty notice (FPN)s for Downing Street lockdown breaches until after next month\u2019s local elections \u201cdue to the restrictions around communicating\u201d ahead of the local elections, though the criminal investigation and issuing of fines could continue.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
London A growing number of senior Conservatives in the UK are advancing plans to oust Boris Johnson as Tory leader and prime minister \u201csooner rather than later\u201d, the Guardian reports. Amid warnings about the effects of the Partygate scandal on their electoral chances, high-ranking MPs are urging their colleagues not to dither over concerns about […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[6],"tags":[],"class_list":{"0":"post-257211","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","6":"category-world"},"yoast_head":"\n