Partygate Archives - The Stray Ferret

Andrew Jones MP to vote for Privileges Committee recommendations

Harrogate and Knaresborough MP Andrew Jones has said he will vote to accept the recommendations of the parliamentary investigation into Boris Johnson.

The seven MPs on the House of Commons Privileges Committee today found the former Prime Minster deliberately misled parliament over lockdown parties.

The cross-party committee said the former PM had committed repeated offences and it would have recommended a 90-day suspension from the House of Commons had Mr Johnson not resigned as an MP last week.

MPs are expected to vote on Monday on whether to approve the committee’s recommendations.

Mr Jones said:

“I called for the Privileges Committee investigation into this issue and I have supported its work. I will be voting on Monday to accept their recommendations in full.”

Speaking in a Commons debate on April 21 last year on the referral of Mr Johnson to the committee, Mr Jones said:

“When there are questions about the conduct of any Member in this place, it is right for the Committee of Privileges to take a look at that case. It is right for it to investigate, it is right for it to make a judgment and it is right for that to happen whoever the Member is.”

He added he wanted to “see more focus on standards across parliament”.

Local Lib Dem says Tories in ‘full-blown civil war’

Tom Gordon

Tom Gordon, the Liberal Democrat prospective parliamentary candidate for Harrogate and Knaresborough, said today voting against the committee’s recommendations would be “an insult to bereaved families who grieved alone while Boris Johnson partied.”

Mr Gordon added:

“This report is completely unprecedented. Never before has a former British Prime Minister been found to have lied to parliament and treated the public with such contempt.

“The Conservative Party is now in a full-blown civil war, while people struggle to afford to pay their mortgage or get a GP appointment.”

Selby and Ainsty Conservative MP Nigel Adams, a close ally of Mr Johnson, also resigned last week, triggering a by-election.

The Conservatives and Greens have named their candidates to fight the seat, which includes numerous villages close to Harrogate, Knaresborough and Boroughbridge, including Spofforth, Follifoot, Kirkby Overblow, Goldsborough, Little Ouseburn, Nun Monkton, Green Hammerton and Kirk Hammerton.

Labour is expected to name its candidate tonight.

Andrew Jones MP to vote against Boris Johnson tonight

Harrogate and Knaresborough Conservative MP Andrew Jones has said he will vote against Prime Minister Boris Johnson in tonight’s confidence vote.

Sir Graham Brady, chairman of the 1922 committee of backbench MPs, confirmed this morning that a ballot will be held at 6pm today.

The move comes as the threshold of 15% of the parliamentary Conservative party seeking a vote of confidence in Mr Johnson was met. He will need the support of 180 MPs this evening to remain as PM.

In a statement published in various media outlets, the MP said he will not be supporting the PM due to the partygate scandal.

The MP said he has received emails from “hundreds of people” in Harrogate and Knaresborough, with most of them calling for the PM to resign.

The statement said:

“There were many harrowing stories in those emails where people couldn’t visit elderly relatives or mourn them at their funerals. These were people following the rules the Prime Minister set and championed.”

The Stray Ferret has asked Mr Jones for a copy of the statement but we did not receive a response.

The statement in full is below:

Credit – Yorkshire Post

Strayside Sunday: the Prime Minister is in trouble

Strayside Sunday is a monthly political opinion column. It is written by Paul Baverstock, former Director of Communications for the Conservative Party.

Well, I didn’t see that one coming. This week, the Daily Mail named our very own Andrew Jones MP as a Tory rebel, joining the growing movement afoot to depose Boris Johnson as leader of his party and, therefore, as Prime Minister.

Never knowingly visible or bold, Andrew’s voice now joins the swelling chorus of Tory MPs who fear for their electoral futures under the current regime. And so they should. This government seems spent of the creative energies needed to address the very serious problems we face, mired as it is in stories about the lawbreaking crimes and misdemeanours of its parliamentary members. From the PM’s Fixed Penalty Notice for attending (just one) of his (many) Number 10 lockdown parties, to the shame of the Sue Gray report into frat house culture at the heart of the heart of the cabinet office, to the jailing of former Wakefield MP Imran Ahmad Khan for sexual assault, to the suspension of yet another, still unnamed Tory for sexual impropriety, a more than faint whiff of sleaze hovers over proceedings. It all feels a little fin de siècle.

Perhaps it’s that which has prompted Andrew Jones to break cover and join the revolution?

Or perhaps it is a rising fear that his rock-solid constituency majority might well be under threat from the yellow peril come the next election? I wrote last time about the success of Harrogate’s Liberal Democrats in May’s local election and remember it isn’t that long ago that Phil Willis was our highly effective and popular MP. There is a very real prospect that Harrogate will return a Liberal Democrat if the current trajectory of Conservative unpopularity continues up to the next election. No doubt this heady cocktail of prosaic principle and practical calculation lies at the root of Mr. Jones’ belated emergence into the ranks of the Tory rebels.

The fact of the matter is that the good ship Johnson is taking on water apace and listing heavily. Were the economy humming along, were the NHS meeting the demand for its services, were people receiving their new and replacement passports and driving licenses in good time, and were petrol, household energy and budget foods holding their price, then Johnson might have been able to brazenly ride out the Partygate furore and the fact that his deep character flaws have moved from private realm to public sphere. As it is there is every possibility that we are heading toward recession, the new NHS Integrated Care Systems are coming on stream with a requirement to cut their budget deficits even in the face of crippling backlogs and overwhelming demands, the basic wheels of bureaucratic government seem to be gummed at the axle and inflation has hit 10%. Given all this, the Tory party’s famed instinct for self-preservation is kicking in and I predict Boris will be out this summer.

The final nail in the coffin is likely to be this month’s by-elections in Wakefield and Tiverton. Both will be seen as bellwethers for the next election. Wakefield was only taken from Labour at the 2019 election with a majority of 3,500, part of Johnson’s Red Wall and proof then of his Heineken quality, reaching those parts other Tories cannot. Given that Labour is 7 points ahead of the Conservatives in national opinion polls, and given the circumstances of the outgoing MP’s resignation, it looks like divine intervention may be the only way the Conservatives will hold the seat. Tiverton (in Devon) is a different kettle; it is a seat held only by the Conservatives since the 1880’s. Yet the mood music suggests that the Lib Dems fancy their chances of doing a North Shropshire and indeed they benefit from a much stronger local base in Tiverton (in the form of local council seats). They are throwing the kitchen sink at the campaign and the Tories are wobbling.

If Johnson loses both by-election seats he will then face discontent and attack from both flanks – from the 2019 intake Red Wall Tories that feel they won because of him last time and from more traditional Tories in the South and elsewhere who fear a Liberal Democrat resurgence. In short, from being the Tory that proved he could win everywhere, Johnson will have become the Tory that can’t win anywhere. And the party won’t wear that. It will see it as its duty to move against Mr. Johnson.

Talking of duty I can’t let this weekend pass without mention of The Queen and her Jubilee. I’m 54, which means the Queen had been on the throne for 16 years even before I was born. Her commitment to serving her country, her integrity, her forbearance and her honour should serve as a lesson to us all. It seems unlikely she’ll be with us for much longer (and who knows what awaits the Royal Family when she is gone), so I for one applaud the celebrations of a grateful nation.

The counterpoint of Her Majesty’s character and behaviour could not be in starker contrast to that of her latest Prime Minister and indeed many of those whose support for him is now in question.

That’s my Strayside Sunday.

Harrogate and Knaresborough MP Andrew Jones MP named as Tory ‘rebel’

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’.

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.’

MPs watch: ‘anger’ over partygate and Northern Ireland politics

Every month the Stray Ferret tries to find out what our local MPs have been up to in their constituencies and in the House of Commons.

This month, historic elections in Northern Ireland saw Sinn Fein become the largest party and the Sue Gray Downing Street parties report was finally published.

We asked our three Conservative MPs, Harrogate & Knaresborough’s Andrew Jones, Skipton and Ripon’s Julian Smith, and Selby and Ainsty’s Nigel Adams if they would like to highlight anything in particular that they have been doing this month, but, as usual, we did not receive a response from any of them.

Here is what we know after analysing their online presence.

Andrew Jones, Harrogate and Knaresborough MP.

In Harrogate and Knaresborough, here is what we found out on Mr Jones:

On May 5, Mr Jones attended the council election count at the Harrogate Convention Centre. He refused to speak with the Stray Ferret when approached for comment on the results.
On May 12, Mr Jones said in the Commons that he has been contacted by ‘distressed constituents’ who are waiting for their passports. He said: “It can be highly stressful for them to be chasing documents as they approach departure day.”
He was back in Harrogate the next day to cut a ribbon and officially open the new Carer’s Resource centre in Harrogate.
On May 17, he met TV presenter and campaigner Quentin Willson to discuss electric vehicles.
On May 20, Mr Jones told Parliament that cuts to Northern train services will damage business and make it impossible for some commuters to be at work on time.
On May 22, the MP was spotted campaigning for the Conservatives in Wakefield for the upcoming by-election.
On May 23, Mr Jones voted for the government’s Public Order Bill. Critics of the bill say it will erode people’s right to protest.
On May 24, Mr Jones asked Thirsk MP Kevin Hollinrake if the Home Office has promised any extra funding for local services impacted by the Linton-on-Ouse asylum centre. Mr Hollinrake replied: “Apparently there will be a double-manned police car in the village at all times.”
On May 27, Mr Jones met the group Melanoma Focus and posed for a photo.
Harrogate & Knaresborough Conservative MP Andrew Jones wrote to a constituent that he feels “anger” over partygate — but would not say whether he has submitted a letter of no confidence in Prime Minister Boris Johnson.

Julian Smith, MP for Skipton and Ripon.

In Skipton and Ripon, here is what we found on Mr Smith:

On May 1, Mr Smith met with the Tory candidates in Ripon for the North Yorkshire County Council elections Cllr Mike Chambers and Thomas Averre. Both candidates failed to win on May 5.
The MP wrote an op-ed in the Daily Mail following the elections in Northern Ireland that saw Sinn Fein become the largest party for the first time. He warned the union between the UK and Northern Ireland is under threat.
On May 18, Mr Smith met Pateley Bridge artist James Owen Thomas. Mr Thomas likes to express himself through the beauty of the outdoors.
On the same day, Mr Smith met Justin Scully, general manager of Fountains Abbey, to discuss the Skell Valley Project.
In an interview with Politics Home’s podcast The Rundown, Smith suggested there was a “question” over how committed some MPs are to Northern Ireland.
Mr Smith spoke in the Commons for the first time in two months in a debate about the Northern Ireland Troubles Bill. He said “For Northern Ireland to come to terms with its past, there is a need for acknowledgement from all sides: from the IRA for the thousands of murders; from loyalists for the hundreds of killings; from the Irish Government for their role in the troubles; and for the killings and collusion by UK forces.”

In rural south Harrogate, here is what we found on Mr Adams:

On May 25, the Boris Johnson ally backed the PM following publication of the Sue Gray report. He tweeted: “He now needs to get on with the job, levelling up the country, tackling global challenges inc cost of living & Ukraine crisis & delivering for the country & for the people who put their faith in him in 2019.”
On May 22, the MP hit out at London Northwestern Railway following a My Chemical Romance concert in Milton Keynes. He thundered: “Dear @LNRailway a disgrace you have not arranged enough trains to get hundreds of young people home after midnight following a concert in Milton Keynes.”
The MP revealed himself as a fan of pop-punk act Blink 182 during a discussion about the celebrity wedding of Kourtney Kardashian and the band’s drummer Travis Barker. He tweeted: “To be fair, @travisbarker is one of the best drummers I’ve seen and worthy of his fame.”
In The Times on May 18, Mr Adams co-authored an article with York Outer MP, and former Harrogate councillor, Julian Sturdy, that said Great British Railways should be based in York.
He twice criticised Labour leader Keir Starmer over the so-called ‘beergate’ row. “Wowser”, he tweeted. “The hypocrisy of
@Keir_Starmer has been breathtaking and he’ll need some fancy lawyer dance moves to explain this one away.”

North Yorks council leader says MPs should decide PM’s fate

The future of Prime Minister Boris Johnson following the partygate saga is for Conservative MPs to decide, says North Yorkshire County Council’s leader.

The Guardian reported yesterday that Cllr Les would support a leadership election in the party.

However, speaking to the Stray Ferret today he claimed he was misquoted and any leadership election within the party was a matter for MPs. He said:

“I said it was disappointing results and I am sure that [partygate] was a factor.”

When asked if he supported Mr Johnson, Cllr Les reiterated that the Prime Minister’s future was for “the parliamentary party to decide”.

His comments follow the publication of the Sue Gray report, which found that many of the parties in Downing Street “should not have been allowed to happen”.

Harrogate and Knaresborough Conservative MP, Andrew Jones, told a constituent in a letter that he felt “anger” over the report.

But Mr Jones, who said in January that “lawmakers can’t be lawbreakers”, did not say whether he had submitted a letter of no confidence in Mr Johnson.

The BBC reported this morning that 27 Tory MPs have publicly urged the Prime Minister to resign.

Letters of no confidence have been submitted to Sir Graham Brady, chairman of the 1922 committee of backbench Conservative MPs, but the precise number is unknown.

Former Attorney General Jeremy Wright became the latest senior Conservative to call for Mr Johnson to step down, saying the lockdown parties at Downing Street had done “lasting damage” to the party.

Andrew Jones MP tells constituent he feels ‘anger’ over partygate

Harrogate & Knaresborough Conservative MP Andrew Jones has told a constituent that he feels “anger” over partygate — but would not say whether he has submitted a vote of no confidence in Prime Minister Boris Johnson.

The long-awaited Sue Gray report was published last week and found that many of the parties in Downing Street “should not have been allowed to happen”.

The report included details of vomiting and parties lasting until 4am while the UK was under covid restrictions.

Following the publication of the report, a constituent wrote to Mr Jones. The MP responded in a letter on May 27 with his thoughts on the subject.

The constituent asked not to be named, but shared the letter with the Stray Ferret.

Mr Jones wrote:

“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.”

Mr Jones has previously been outspoken over partygate and said in the letter that his “anger is not going to lessen”.

In January, the MP wrote to a different constituent to say if criminal actions were found then “consequences must flow from that”.

In April, the Prime Minister was given a fixed penalty notice for attending a birthday gathering on June 20, 2020. It made him the first Prime Minister to have been found to have broken the law while in office.

However, the letter suggests that Mr Jones now considers the case closed.

He wrote:

“My anger isn’t going to lessen and I am not going to forget this episode in the story of Covid-19. But I won’t be commenting again unless something substantially new comes to light having already responded to hundreds and hundreds of emails and letters on every aspect of this matter.”

The BBC has reported at least 20 Tory MPs have written to the 1922 committee of backbenchers with letters of no confidence in the Prime Minister.

Fifty-four letters are needed to trigger a leadership vote, but Mr Jones would not reveal if he has submitted one, writing:

“This is a matter that will remain between myself and the chair of the 1922 committee.”

The Stray Ferret has asked Mr Jones for his views following the publication of the Sue Gray report, but has not received a response.

Harrogate district MP: ‘Time for Boris to get on with the job’

Nigel Adams is the only Harrogate district MP to comment so far on the publication of the long-awaited Sue Gray report.

The senior civil servant found that many of the parties in Downing Street “should not have been allowed to happen”.

The report included details of vomiting and parties lasting until 4am whilst the UK was under covid restrictions.

Mr Adams, whose Selby and Ainsty constituency includes several Harrogate district villages, is a member of the cabinet and a key ally of Prime Minister Boris Johnson. He tweeted this afternoon:

“The Prime Minister welcomes Sue Gray’s report and has apologised again.

“He now needs to get on with the job, levelling up the country, tackling global challenges including the cost of living and Ukraine crisis and delivering for the country and for the people who put their faith in him in 2019.”

Other cabinet ministers including Rishi Sunak, Dominic Raab and Nadine Dorries all tweeted similar messages of support for the Prime Minister at the same time.

The Prime Minister welcomes Sue Gray’s report & has apologised again.

He now needs to get on with the job, levelling up the country, tackling global challenges inc cost of living & Ukraine crisis & delivering for the country & for the people who put their faith in him in 2019.

— Nigel Adams (@nadams) May 25, 2022

What have Andrew Jones and Julian Smith said?

The Stray Ferret asked the two other Tory MPs in the district, Harrogate and Knaresborough’s Andrew Jones and Skipton and Ripon’s Julian Smith for their response to the report but we did not get a reply.

In January during a Commons debate, Mr Jones said the Sue Gray report should be published in full.

In the same month, an email to a constituent revealed Mr Jones thoughts on ‘partygate’ scandal. The MP said: “I take the maxim ‘lawmakers can’t be lawbreakers’ seriously.”

Mr Jones said if criminal actions were found then “consequences must flow from that”.

“In respect of the investigation announced by the Prime Minister in December, if this finds wrongdoing, and the police find that these actions were criminal, then consequences must flow from that.”

Julian Smith is yet to comment publicly on the report.

Leading Ripon Conservative councillor calls for PM to resign over parties

Prime minister Boris Johnson should resign over his ‘lack of leadership’ in handling the partygate scandal still hanging over Downing Street.

That’s the view of Ripon councillor Stuart Martin, chair of the Conservative-controlled North Yorkshire County Council, who will not be standing for re-election after 23 years in local politics.

He told the Stray Ferret:

“In my time as a firefighter and crew manager, I knew that I was duty bound to set an example and I don’t think the prime minister has done this in his handling of the partygate issue.

“He should step down because of the lack of leadership that he showed.”

Cllr Martin, pointed out:

“I must stress that I am not speaking on behalf of the council, but from a personal perspective.”

In March 2020, when the country was in its first covid-lockdown and he and his wife April were serving as the Mayor and Mayoress of the Harrogate District, she contracted coronavirus and went into two weeks of self-isolation.

The Mayoress’s condition deteriorated rapidly and she was rushed into Harrogate District Hospital where her life was saved in the intensive care unit.

At the time, Cllr Martin, said:

“I had to say goodbye to her in the ambulance and I didn’t know whether or not I would ever see her again.”

A second chance

Former nurse April, who is still suffering from long covid, said:

“Because of the skill of everybody at the hospital, we were given a second chance and that was in our thinking, when we looked to the future and Stuart decided it was time to step down.”

The couple, who will celebrate their 41st wedding anniversary in June, have two grown-up daughters and plan to spend more time with them and their six grandchildren, aged from five to 16.

The frightening experience of two years ago remains fresh in their minds and with daughter Gemma working as a paramedic, they have an everyday reminder of the vital role that front-life staff continue to play in tackling the pandemic and keeping people safe.

This was highlighted at Christmas, when the lack of rapid flow test kits put additional strain on the emergency services.

Cllr Martin, said:

“It was a chaotic and ridiculous situation, with paramedics urgently requiring testing kits to ensure that they were clear of the virus and able to care for others.”

Continuing work in the community

The Queen and Prince Philip, pictured in 2004 with the then Mayor and Mayoress of Ripon Councillor Stuart Martin and his wife April

As the government eases the restrictions on daily life, the Martins will continue to remain vigilant as they carry out their community work in Ripon and further afield.

Cllr Martin, one of the founders of TASC Madagascar which is helping disadvantaged people in the island country, will continue as a trustee for the charity.

He will also maintain his role as chair of trustees at Community House in Ripon, whose services are supporting hundreds of families and individuals trapped in food poverty.

Awarded an MBE IN 2010 for his charity work in Ripon and Madagascar, Cllr Martin will be playing active roles with the Ripon Community Poppy Project and as chair of the Friends of Hell Wath.

April, a former district commissioner for the Girl Guides, will continue to run a local Brownie group.

Looking back over the past 20 years, in which they have been Mayor and Mayoress of Ripon as well as the Harrogate district, a special memory came in 2004 when the Queen and Prince Philip visited the city to mark the 400th anniversary of the Royal Charter awarded by James I.

Cllr Martin, said:

“We were extremely privileged to meet them on that day and proud to have represented the people of Ripon.”

Local Lib Dem says Tories in ‘full-blown civil war’

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What have Andrew Jones and Julian Smith said?

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A second chance

Continuing work in the community

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