A series of Conservative MPs have called for Liz Truss to resign after a day of almost unprecedented political chaos that has left dozens of other Tories unsure whether she will even hold the party whip after a Commons vote coup. are or not
Three more MPs joined the ranks of those who publicly said the Prime Minister should resign: Henry Smith, Crawley MP; Gary Streeter, who represents South West Devon; and Cheryl Murray, MP for South East Cornwall.
The total number of such MPs is still less than a dozen, but many privately believe so, increasing pressure on Truss.
Adding to the chaos, dozens of Conservative MPs face yet-to-be-specified disciplinary action after Downing Street announced that the anarchist vote on fracking was being treated as a matter of confidence.
It was widely reported that Liz Truss’s chief whip, Wendy Morton, and deputy chief whip, Craig Whittaker, had resigned after inappropriate scenes, with MPs alleging that ministers had physically assaulted some agitated Tories. Pulled into the voting lobby.
At the start of business on Thursday, the Speaker of the Commons, Lindsay Hoyle, said he had asked the sergeant-at-arms, who is responsible for order in the chamber, and other officials to investigate the allegations.
The vote, on a Labor motion that decided the future of a possible ban on fracking in England, was billed as a pre-confidence motion, meaning the Tories, who did not support it, The party whip can be usurped and forced. Sit as independent members of the assembly.
After a series of MPs said they would rebel anyway, including Chris Skidmore, the former minister leading a review of the Truss’ net zero policies, Climate Minister Graham Stuart told the Commons: “Absolutely clear. It is not a vote of confidence.”
But in another apparent policy reversal in recent days, a statement from Number 10 on Thursday morning said Stewart had been misinformed, and confirmed the whip was in place. are
The statement said that the Prime Minister has full confidence in the Chief and Deputy Chief Whip. “Throughout the day, the whips treated the vote as a confidence motion. The minister at the dispatch box was, mistakenly, told by Downing Street that it was not.
“However, Conservative MPs were fully aware that the vote was subject to a three-line whip. The whips will now speak to Conservative MPs who failed to support the government. Those who failed to vote with the government If they do not have a reasonable excuse, they can expect proportionate disciplinary action.
In total, 40 Tory MPs did not vote with the government, although none voted with Labour, meaning the government defeated Labour’s motion by 326 votes to 230. Votes were correctly recorded. But this opens up the possibility of a large number of MPs being reprimanded or losing the whip.
Those who abstained without permission were apparently in the dark about what would happen next.
Siobhan Bailey, the 2019 intake Tory representing Stroud, tweeted: “I abstained from voting last night knowing the likely outcome. For those asking if I’m still a Conservative MP. – I don’t know but I hope so.
Downing Street did not respond to questions about what form the disciplinary action would take.
This comes after the prime minister received a far-from-endorsement from a cabinet minister on Thursday morning. When asked if Truss would lead the Tory party into the next general election. The transport secretary, Anne-Marie Trevelyan, told Times Radio: “That’s the way it is at the moment.”
A rowdy night in the Commons has come under fire from some MPs over claims of intimidation and bullying. Shortly after the vote, Labor MP Chris Bryant used a point of order to tell the Commons that Tory MPs were being “physically abused” in the official voting lobby. He demanded a formal investigation.
A Tory backbencher told it was “the most bullying, shouting and screaming” he had seen in the voting lobby, with Morton and Whittaker engaged in a “full-on shouting match”.
Bryant said he saw 20 MPs “surrounded by some Conservative MPs wondering how they should vote”.
He said: “It was very aggressive, very angry, a lot of shouting, a lot of pointing, pointing, at least one hand on another MP, and to me it was clear bullying, intimidation. “
Trevelyan told Sky News he had not witnessed it, adding: “I don’t think it’s acceptable for any party – and we’ve seen it happen before, where people are properly They’re probably more motivated to vote. – It’s never right.”
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