Boris Johnson fighting for future as children’s minister Will Quince becomes latest senior Tory to resign – live | Politics

The Tory papers have (mostly) turned on Boris Johnson this morning. Here is a round-up.

From Tom Newton Dunn from Talk TV

And Will Quince has resigned as minister for children and families. Quince defended Boris Johnson in interviews on Monday and he says he has resigned because he used false information in those interviews that he had been given by No 10.

Quince said he had been given a “categorical assurance” by No 10 that Johnson was not aware of any “specific” allegation made against Pincher when he appointed him to the post of deputy chief whip earlier this year. That was not true.

Quince says in his resignation letter that he spoke to Johnson last night and that Johnson delivered a “sincere apology”. But Quince says he has to resign anyway because he repeated what he was told by No 10 “in good faith”.

Effectively he is saying he regards saying things that are untrue to the public as a resignation matter – even though he was not to blame. There are many of his colleagues who do not apply the same standard, and who have given false information to viewers on the basis of a No 10 briefing but who have not resigned.

Laura Trott has just resigned as a PPS (parliamentary private secretary). She has posted this on her Facebook page.

I want to update you all, that I have resigned from my role as parliamentary private secretary, to the Department of Transport. Trust in politics is – and must always be – of the upmost importance, but sadly in recent months this has been lost. Thank you to all of you who have written to me expressing your views. I have read them carefully, and taken them into consideration as part of my decision. I have, and will always, put the residents of Sevenoaks and Swanley front and centre of my work in Westminster.

Q: On inflation, there is an argument that you cannot afford tax cuts when inflation is a problem because that will fuel inflation. That is what Rishi Sunak thought. But there is another argument that tax cuts are needed, because they will fuel growth. Is that why you were appointed?

Zahawi says that is not right. He says he was appointed because he would be evidence-led. He will rebuild the economy, and promote growth.

Zahawi has not slipped into talking about the vaccine delivery programme, saying the focus on data, evidence and transparency made it a success. That is what he will do with policy generally, he says.

Robinson says the data and evidence shows that taxes are going up to a record high under this government. Why not tell people the truth? Tough times demand high taxes.

Zahawi says his focus is on promoting growth. 2023 is going to be hard for growth.

Q: Taxes are going up?

Zahawi does say “Yes”, but rapidly moves on.

Zahawi says the PM told him last night to focus on “delivery, delivery, delivery”. But it must be a team effort. He goes on:

Divided teams do not attract votes.

(That does not bode well for Zahawi’s party, in the light of everything else being said by his Tory colleagues today.)

Q: Everything ministers have told us about what No 10 knew about Chris Pincher was untrue. It was only when Simon McDonald spoke out they told the truth?

Zahawi says the PM apologised last night. “In my view that’s good leadership,” Zahawi says (he is referring to apologising for your mistake).

Q: But you and he did not tell the truth when you said he did not know about the Pincher allegations when he appointed him.

Zahawi says he was telling the truth to the best of his knowledge.

He tries to change the subject, and says they have a big challenge ahead.

The people trying to turn the Tories against each other are people like Alastair Campbell, he says.

Robinson says it is “insulting” to claim this crisis has just been created by the government’s opponents.

Nadhim Zahawi, the new chancellor, is now being interviewed by Nick Robinson on the Today programme.

Q: Why was it in the country’s interests, as against yours, for you to stay in the cabinet?

Because we are facing a global battle against inflation, says Zahawi. And we have war on our continent. Many people are struggling with their bills. Today the biggest personal tax cut in a decade is coming into force (the rise in the national insurance threshold).

Q: Don’t you agree with Rishi Sunak, who said the government should be conducted properly and competently? And don’t you agree with Sajid Javid who said the government should have integrity.

Zahawi says Boris Johnson apologised for the Chris Pincher appointment. He says governments take decision at speed, and don’t get everything right.

Good morning. I’m Andrew Sparrow, taking over from Hamish Mackay.

Tory MPs critical of Boris Johnson claim that a majority of their colleagues are now in favour of replacing him.

Chris Loder, elected MP for West Dorset in 2019, told the Today programme:

I think there is a majority in the party that wants to see change.

I personally have lost confidence in the prime minister now and I’m very sorry to say that. I think he does need to go.

I think if he chooses not to, I think the 1922 Committee should act and I certainly would support that approach in the forthcoming 1922 elections.

And Andrew Bridgen, who has been MP for North West Leicestershire since 2010, told BBC Breakfast that the mood in the party had changed since the two recent byelection defeats. He said:

We are regarded as rebels. We’re not. Well over half the parliamentary party now now want Boris Johnson to leave office. That means we’re the mainstream …

About a month ago we had the no confidence vote. Since then there’s been a lot of buyer’s remorse from those who backed him and it’s only been one-way traffic. I haven’t heard anybody who voted no confidence in the prime minister has changed their mind since then.

Yesterday even arch Boris loyalists on the backbenches had given up.

Shadow chancellor Rachel Reeves is next up on the media rounds.

She tells BBC Breakfast that she welcomes the resignations but it is clear Boris Johnson “can no longer provide the leadership that the country desperately needs”.

Echoing Starmer’s comments from last night, she says: “This is [about] much more than changing the person at the top of the Conservative party. Conservative MPs, Conservative ministers are complicit in what has happened in the last few years.”

On the economy, Reeves says: “Britain is stuck, the economy is the weakest it has been for some time, growth is expected next year to be the lowest in the G20, except for Russia.”

She adds: “Bring on a general election … It is time for a fresh start. Labour are ready to provide that leadership.”

That’s it from me for this morning, I’m now handing over to my colleague Andrew Sparrow.

Responding to the resignations last night, Labour leader Sir Keir Starmer said: “If they [ministers] had a shred of integrity they would have gone months ago. The British public will not be fooled. The Tory party is corrupted and changing one man won’t fix that. Only a real change of government can give Britain the fresh start it needs.”

This morning, Lib Dem leader Sir Ed Davey said the Conservatives must do their “patriotic duty” and “get rid of Boris Johnson today”.

He told BBC Breakfast the Tories did not have a “serious economic plan” for the country during a cost-of-living crisis, adding that the Lib Dems have been “championing” tax cuts, particularly on VAT.

In a tweet, SNP leader Nicola Sturgeon added: “Feels like end might be nigh for Johnson – not a moment too soon. Notable tho that the resigning ministers were only prepared to go when they were lied to – they defended him lying to public. The whole rotten lot need to go.”

The former Tory vice-chair Bim Afolami has been on BBC Radio 4’s Today programme.

The MP for Hitchin and Harpenden resigned yesterday, saying that – despite backing Boris Johnson in the recent confidence vote – the PM no longer had his support.

He tells Today:

The reason why I voted for the prime minister (in the confidence ballot) was that he was clear that he felt he earned the right to rebuild trust in him – rebuild trust in the government – after the issue of parties at Downing Street. I thought that was right, to give him that time.

But I think that in the last few weeks we’ve seen that things haven’t improved. They’ve got a lot worse.

I think the behaviour of Downing Street over the Chris Pincher affair was really appalling. And I, personally, just couldn’t think I could defend that sort of behaviour any longer.

It was the blow to Boris Johnson that every one of his backbench critics had been waiting for.

Sajid Javid, the health secretary, followed shortly by Rishi Sunak, the chancellor, posted their letters of resignation on Twitter, criticising the competence of the government.

Rishi Sunak and Sajid Javid’s resignation letters in fullRead more

Neither explicitly mentioned the sexual misconduct and Partygate scandals that have dogged the government for months. Sunak in particular claimed the prompt for his resignation was his differing approach on the economy.

But the backdrop to both resignations was Johnson’s catastrophic handling of the Chris Pincher affair, after he admitted appointing his ally as deputy chief whip despite having been told of misconduct allegations against him.

Just seconds earlier, Johnson had told the cameras that he was sorry for his mistakes in appointing Pincher, and he had toured the House of Commons tearoom saying that “everyone deserves a second chance”.

The problem is that Johnson is not on his second chance but a number much higher than that after scandals such as Partygate, Tory donors funding his flat renovations, his overriding of Security Service advice to give a peerage to Evgeny Lebedev, and attempts to rewrite the standards system.

The two major resignations did not lead to an immediate further deluge of cabinet ministers quitting but Tory MPs critical of Johnson still believe this means the end is nigh for the prime minister.

Next, Zahawi is pressed on teachers’ pay, energy prices and tax cuts. He gives hopeful but non-committal answers on the changes he hopes to make.

He repeats that his aims are fiscal control, tax cuts and getting inflation down.

Zahawi says he will use all the “levers” at his disposal, but doesn’t go into specifics.

On Boris Johnson’s handling of the Chris Pincher revelations, which ultimately led to yesterday’s resignations, Zahawi says the PM – with the benefit of hindsight – has seen he was wrong to appoint Pincher as deputy chief whip and has rightly apologised (the video of that apology is at the top of his blog).

Finally, asked if he thinks the PM is a man of integrity, he (unsurprisingly) says that he does.

What did the new chancellor agree with the PM when appointed last night?

Zahawi says his first job is to “rebuild the economy” and help people in the “global battle against inflation”.

“I want to look at what more I can do to return to growth. The first thing we’ve got to do is make sure we’re really careful, whether that’s public sector pay, that we don’t deepen inflation.”

He’s then asked about the possibility of raising corporation tax. Zahawi responds that he will “look at everything” but wants to make sure the UK is as competitive as possible when trying to entice businesses to invest in the country.

The new chancellor is on Sky News. First up, he’s asked why he took a job from a man described by many as a liar.

“You don’t go into this job to have an easy life,” says Nadhim Zahawi, who adds that it would have been easier to walk away than to take this position.

He says there are some “big challenges facing us” and he wants to help solve them.

Pressed on the claim he threatened to resign if he was not appointed chancellor, Zahawi denies that was the case.

“This is a team game,” he says.

Will he run for leader if a vacancy appears?

“There is no vacancy,” he responds.

The following people resigned from their posts last night:

Rishi Sunak, chancellor
Sajid Javid, health secretary
Bim Afolami, Conservative vice-chair
Alex Chalk, solicitor general
Jonathan Gullis, parliamentary private secretary
Saqib Bhatti, parliamentary private secretary
Nicola Richards, parliamentary private secretary
Virginia Crosbie, parliamentary private secretary
Andrew Murrison, trade envoy
Theo Clarke, trade envoy

The new cabinet appointments are as follows:
Nadhim Zahawi, chancellor
Steve Barclay, health secretary
Michelle Donelan, education secretary

At 6pm yesterday, Boris Johnson gave an interview he hoped would stem some of the criticism over his handling of the Chris Pincher allegations. Within two minutes, Sajid Javid had resigned as health secretary. Then Rishi Sunak quit as chancellor.

In total, 10 Tories handed in resignation letters for various of government posts on Tuesday evening, leaving the prime minister fighting for his political future.

Johnson attempted to recover his authority by swiftly appointing Nadhim Zahawi as his chancellor and Steve Barclay as health secretary. But the credibility of the move was undermined as reports emerged that Zahawi had threatened to quit unless he got the job instead of the foreign secretary, Liz Truss.

The resignations of Javid and Sunak, both considered potential future leadership contenders, come at a moment of significant danger for the prime minister. Elections to the 1922 Committee executive next week are expected to strengthen the hand of rebels hoping to call another vote of no confidence.

There is growing expectation among MPs that there will be moves to change the rules to allow a second confidence vote before the summer recess begins on 21 July, a feat previously seen as administratively impossible.

At midday today, Johnson will face the Commons for prime minister’s questions – we’ll bring you live updates from that and all the day’s other political developments as they happen.