Harrogate and Knaresborough MP Andrew Jones has been named in a Daily Mail article today about Conservative MPs plotting to oust Boris Johnson.
Mr Jones has told constituents asking about partygate that his “anger is not going to lessen”.
His also said:
“I understand the anger people feel. I feel it too. Most of all I feel intensely depressed that senior people in our political system have pretended, or somehow genuinely believed, that tables groaning with bottles of wine, as we have now seen pictured, were in some way allowed work practices.”
But Mr Jones has not called for the Prime Minister to resign and has not revealed whether he has submitted a letter calling for a vote of no confidence in Mr Johnson to Sir Graham Brady, chair of the backbench 1922 committee. Fifty-four Tory MPs must do so to trigger a leadership contest.
Mr Jones has declined to respond to questions about the matter from the Stray Ferret.
Nevertheless the Daily Mail includes him in a list of 41 Conservative MPs in an article about Tory ‘plotters’.
Read more:
- Andrew Jones MP tells constituent he feels ‘anger’ over partygate
- Andrew Jones MP says Harrogate and Knaresborough train cuts’a bad mistake’
York Outer MP Julian Sturdy is also named, along with former Cabinet minister Andrea Leadsom and former Shadow Home Secretary David Davis.
The article claims the ‘rebels’ could get enough support for a confidence vote next week.
It quotes Home Secretary Priti Patel urging them to “concentrate on doing our jobs” rather than creating a “distraction”.
She adds:
“Writing letters is a sideshow, quite frankly, rather than focusing on the real challenges that we have to find solutions to.’
“Our job is to deliver on the people’s priorities. They won’t thank the Conservative Party for talking about itself at a time when people have anxieties, concerns, apprehensions. Our job is deliver for them.’
