David Davis warns Tories can expect 'year of agony' if party doesn't swiftly ...

David Davis warns Tories can expect 'year of agony' if party doesn't swiftly ...
David Davis warns Tories can expect 'year of agony' if party doesn't swiftly ...

David Davis warned the Tory Party is 'dying a death of 1,000 cuts' and faces a 'year of agony' if it does not act swiftly to oust Boris Johnson over allegations of rule-breaking parties in Downing Street.

The senior Conservative told the Prime Minister to 'in the name of God, go' in the Commons on Wednesday shortly after one of the newest Tory MPs defected to Labour.

The former Brexit secretary then followed this up with a series of further explosive comments in a newspaper interview, before he was nearly run over by a taxi as he dodged further questions from a TV reporter later that evening.

He told the Telegraph: 'Boris will not leave Number 10 unless he's dragged out kicking and screaming. Very few inhabitants of Number 10 go voluntarily. That's why I felt the need to give him a nudge.' 

His initial intervention came during a Prime Minister's Questions that started minutes after Christian Wakeford switched sides, refusing to 'defend the indefensible'. 

Mr Johnson went into the Commons with his premiership on life support, as a group of Tories who won their seats in the 2019 election landslide appeared to have lost faith in their boss.

No 10 said Mr Johnson will fight any no-confidence vote launched against him and insisted he expects to fight the next general election.

Mr Johnson's press secretary said he would have further meetings with MPs as he attempted to shore up support on his back benches.

Boris Johnson

 Boris Johnson (left) was today told to quit over Partygate by senior Tory David Davis at a brutal PMQs today just minutes after an MP dramatically defected to Labour

Mr Wakeford was on the Labour benches for PMQS today wearing a union flag face mask

Mr Wakeford was on the Labour benches for PMQS today wearing a union flag face mask

David Davis warned the Tory Party is 'dying a death of 1,000 cuts' and faces a 'year of agony' if it does not act swiftly to oust Boris Johnson over allegations of rule-breaking parties in Downing Street

David Davis warned the Tory Party is 'dying a death of 1,000 cuts' and faces a 'year of agony' if it does not act swiftly to oust Boris Johnson over allegations of rule-breaking parties in Downing Street

Mr Wakeford was welcomed by his new party leader Sir Keir Starmer in his parliamentary office tonight

Mr Wakeford was welcomed by his new party leader Sir Keir Starmer in his parliamentary office tonight

How could Boris Johnson be ousted by Tory MPs?  

Boris Johnson is under huge pressure over Partygate, with speculation that he might even opt to walk away.

But barring resignation, the Tories have rules on how to oust and replace the leader. 

What is the mechanism for removing the Tory leader? 

 Tory Party rules allow the MPs to force a vote of no confidence in their leader.

How is that triggered? 

 A vote is in the hands of the chairman of the Tory Party's backbench 1922 Committee, Sir Graham Brady.

A vote of no confidence must be held if 15 per cent of Tory MPs write to the chairman. Currently that threshold is 54 MPs.

Letters are confidential unless the MP sending it makes it public. This means only Sir Graham knows how many letters there are. 

What happens when the threshold is reached? 

A secret ballot is held, with the leader technically only needing to win support from a simple majority of MPs

But in reality, a solid victory is essential for them to stay in post.

What happens if the leader loses? 

The leader is sacked if they do not win a majority of votes from MPs, and a leadership contest begins in which they cannot stand.

However, when the party is in power the outgoing leader typically stay on as Prime Minister until a replacement is elected.

There is no requirement for a general election to be held, unless the new PM wants to call one.  

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The anger from a former minister first elected in 1987 and Mr Wakeford, elected to the so-called Red Wall seat of Bury South two years ago, showed the breadth of the fury in the party.

In an interview with the Daily Telegraph, Mr Davis said: 'The party is going to have to make a decision or we face dying a death of 1,000 cuts.'

The Prime Minister will appear to be 'shifting the blame' if he fires staff after senior civil servant Sue Gray delivers her inquiry into events held at No 10 during Covid restrictions, the Haltemprice and Howden MP said.

Then there will be the 'crises' of rising energy bills and the National Insurance hike being compounded by the 'disorganisation' at No 10, which could trigger a vote of no confidence at Christmas, meaning a 'year of agony', he continued.

'That's the worst outcome, particularly for the 2019 and 2017 and 2015 intake - that, slice by slice by slice, this carries on and we bump along at minus whatever and, even worse, we create policies to try to paper over it.'

Speaking shortly after his Commons outburst, Mr Davis admitted: 'I've just made myself the most unpopular person in the Tory party.

'Well, the second most unpopular. But I've gone from thinking maybe we can rescue it to maybe we just have to accelerate it and get it done.' 

Commons Leader Jacob Rees-Mogg sought to downplay Mr Davis's intervention, describing the former minister as having 'always been something of a lone wolf'.

'No-one would call David a lightweight, he's a very serious political figure, but his comments today were too theatrical,' he added.

Mr Wakeford, who was elected in 2019 with a majority of just 402 votes, accused Mr Johnson of being 'incapable of offering the leadership and government this country deserves' as he switched sides.

Following a joint media appearance with Labour leader Sir Keir Starmer, Mr Wakeford said the Tories are 'a party trying to defend the indefensible' as he explained his defection.

A Labour spokesman said the party had been in talks with Mr Wakeford for 'some time' and would welcome an election, after Mr Johnson said the Tories would win back Bury South.

He declined to say whether there are more Conservative MPs considering defecting, while the Prime Minister's press secretary said she was not aware of any.

However, embattled Boris Johnson was gifted some breathing space on Partygate on Wednesday night as Tories closed rank.

There are claims the flow of letters demanding a no-confidence vote has been stemmed after Mr Wakeford dramatically crossed the floor to join Keir Starmer.

Conservatives immediately focused their fury on the betrayal by the Red Wall MP, who has a wafer-thin majority of just 402 in Bury South. Meanwhile, Mr Davis' full-frontal attack also seemed to backfire. 

A Cabinet minister told MailOnline: 'The tribal nature of politics and the ''professional grump'' nature of David seems to have cooled the mood,' they said. 

Allies of Mr Johnson branded Mr Davis 'a loner', while another MP who has been increasingly frustrated at Mr Johnson's performance said he appeared to be 'back to his normal self'. 

'If you are going to tell the boss to resign you do it privately,' an ex-minister said. 'He is not a popular character. He is very prickly.'   

Mr Johnson pictured with 2019 intake MPs after his huge election victory. Ringed are some of the alleged Pork Pie plotters, with Mr Wakeford second from left

Mr Johnson pictured with 2019 intake MPs after his huge election victory. Ringed are some of the alleged Pork Pie plotters, with Mr Wakeford second from left

Dehenna Davison with rescued puppy 'Carter' pictured next to Carrie Johnson with dog Dilyn and Rishi Sunak, canvasing in Bishop Auckland. She is thought to be one of the ringleaders

Dehenna Davison with rescued puppy 'Carter' pictured next to Carrie Johnson with dog Dilyn and Rishi Sunak, canvasing in Bishop Auckland. She is thought to be one of the ringleaders

Alicia Kearns

Gary Sambrook

Some of the backbench Tory plotters include Alicia Kearns (left), who represents Melton Mowbray, and Gary Sambrook (right) from Birmingham Northfield

A poll today found that the Tories are 11 points behind Labour in crucial Red Wall seats - a dramatic turnaround from the nine-point advantage they had at the 2019 election

A poll today found that the Tories are 11 points behind Labour in crucial Red Wall seats - a dramatic turnaround from the nine-point advantage they had at the 2019 election

Who is Christian Wakeford, the Tory MP who has just defected to the Labour Party?

Christian Wakeford was elected as the Conservative MP for Bury South for the first time in 2019 - one of the Red Wall victories which propelled Boris Johnson to his massive election win. 

But the married 37-year-old has now switched to Labour, inflicting a massive blow to Mr Johnson's ailing premiership. 

Mr Wakeford hit the headlines in November 2021 after it emerged he called Owen Paterson a 'c***' to his face after the latter was found to have broken lobbying rules. 

Mr Wakeford narrowly snatched the Bury South seat from Labour in 2019, winning with a majority of just 402 votes.    

Labour had held the seat since 1997.  

Before entering politics, Mr Wakeford worked for a telecommunications firm having studied politics at Lancaster University. 

He served as a Tory councillor on Lancashire County Council and also previously worked as a case worker for Tory MP Andrew Stephenson. 

He served as the leader of the Tories on Pendle Borough Council.  

In Parliament, Mr Wakeford is a member of the Education Select Committee. 

He is also the co-chairman of the All Party Parliamentary Group on British Jews.   

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Amid what has been dubbed a 'Pork Pie plot' by 2019 intake politicians, Mr Wakeford already declared he had put in a letter of no confidence in Mr Johnson. 

And he was on the Opposition benches this afternoon wearing a Union Jack face mask. In a parting shot letter to the premier, Mr Wakeford branded his leadership 'disgraceful' and said he believed Labour would do more to tackle the cost of living crisis. 

Sir Keir goaded Mr Johnson in the Commons that any more defectors were 'welcome', saying the Tories had shown they were 'incapable' of governing the country.

'The Labour Party has changed and so has the Conservative Party,' he said. 'He and anyone else who wants to build a new Britain built on decency, security … is welcomed in my Labour Party.' 

But Mr Johnson, who was flanked by Rishi Sunak and Priti Patel on the front

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