OPINION: Is Boris the new Theresa May or Iain Duncan Smith?
The Conservatives in London are circling, and are ready to descend upon their wounded party leader Boris Johnson.
After months of no comments and not wanting to address the worst kept secret in British Politics, the UK Prime Minster admitted that he had in-fact attended a garden party at 10 Downing Street all the while telling UK citizens to stay home and not gather due to the rising tide of the first wave of COVID-19.
Johnson made the admission in the House of Commons and has since been under heavy attack from the press, the public, the opposition, and from his own party.
Conservatives have been turning out leaders since David Cameron's fail bid to quash the Brexit wing of his party. He sent the people of the UK to the polls to decide for themselves if the UK should in-fact leave or stay in the European Union. Cameron announced days after the vote that he would step down, launching the a race to replace him.
Theresa May the presumed front runner of the race to replace Cameron, won on the second ballot. She took the party that held a small majority in the House of Commons to a snap vote two years after the 2015 election. This angered voters and caused the Conservative to lose seats across the United Kingdom.
Losing 13 seats and causing the Conservative party to lose their majority upset some members of the 1922 Committee.
The 1922 Committee is a parliamentary group of all Conservative Party backbenchers who meet and provides a way for backbenchers to co-ordinate and discuss their views independently of the cabinet and party leadership.
The powerful committee also has the ability to launch a leadership review of the sitting Conservative leader - whether that leader is the current Prime Minsiter or when across the aisle is Opposition Leader.
Needing only 15 per cent of Conservative MP's (54 MPS in 2022) to write a letter to the chairman of the 1922 committee asking for a leadership vote.
A year after the 2017 general election, May was forced out by her party when the 1922 gathered 15 per cent of sitting Conservative MP's. This was the second time since 2000 the powerful committee were able to force a leadership vote on the leader of the party, Iain Duncan Smith the Conservative leader in 2003 who was forced out.
Smith won the leadership after William Hague stepped down shortly after the 2001 UK Election. Smith would go on to serve two years as leader before the 1922 Committee called a vote due to dropping poll numbers and his "lack of charisma."
May and Smith have been the only two recent leaders to have been forced out of the party's top job. Current Prime Minsiter Boris Johnson looks he might be joining that class shortly.
Conservative MP's are announcing their support or their opposition to the Conservative leader.
According to Sky News, here is a list of Conservative Party leaders and politicians who have announced their opposition to Boris since December of 2021:
Sir Roger Gale - MP for North Thanet
Douglas Ross - Leader of the Scottish Conservatives
Andrew Bridgen - MP fo North West Leicestershire
Christian Wakeford - MP for Bury South (later announced he crossed the floor to the Labour Party)
Caroline Nokes - MP for Romsey and Southhampton
William Wragg - MP for Hazel Grove (vice chairman of the 1922 Committee)
David Davis - MP for Haltemprice and Howden
Conservative PM Boris Johnson has repeatedly stated that he will not step down but as opposition tides rise, and the party membership begin to circle the leader, time will only tell if Boris can survive the blood bath that it is about to transpire in London.
The moment people start speculating about your replacement is the moment you start looking for a new job. News outlets across the UK are already floating new potential replacements for Johnson who is gripping to power.
Each day that passes can be another day closer to Boris ending his tenure as the Prime Minister of the United Kingdom.
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