The defection of Tory MP Christian Wakeford was designed to finish Boris Johnson off.
Cruelly timed just minutes before Prime Minister’s Questions, the Tory turncoat hoped his betrayal would drive his fellow malcontents among the 2019 intake of MPs to dispatch a flood of no confidence letters – triggering a leadership contest.
Excitable members of the so-called ‘Pork Pie Plot’ of rebel Red Wall MPs had briefed sympathetic journalists that the PM would be facing a vote of no confidence by early afternoon – and 5pm at the latest.
But it didn’t end in our favor.
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
He was wearing a mask with a union flag on his face while he was sitting today at the Labour benches.
Sir Keir Sternmer, the new leader of his party, received Mr Wakeford in his parliamentary offices tonight
The defection had, however, appeared to be the exact opposite. Tory MPs said that wavering colleagues who had planned to send no confidence letters to the 1922 committee of backbench MPs now looked set to delay – at least until the publication next week of a report into the ‘Partygate’ controversy by Whitehall ethics chief Sue Gray. And with the momentum lost, the ‘pork pie putsch’ appeared to crumble to dust as quickly as it had materialised.
It had begun on Tuesday when around 20 of the plotters gathered in the Commons office of MP Alicia Kearns – whose Melton Mowbray constituency gave the plot its moniker – to discuss tactics for defenestrating their leader.
Secret ballots revealed that approximately half of those surveyed had submitted no confidence letters to Sir Graham Brady, Tory shop steward.
The plotters, who included Bishop Auckland MP Dehenna Davison, West Dorset MP Chris Loder and Totnes MP Anthony Mangnall, were said to have concluded that the Partygate row was ‘terminal’ for the PM and discussed sending in their letters en masse to force a contest.
The plot was quickly discovered by Tory whips, who were on alert for any signs of disloyalty.
Many MPs in trouble were invited to meetings with party senior figures. Some even got to be ushered into the office of the Prime Minister.
Yesterday, No. 10, denied the claims of the PM in tears while pleading with his fellow rebels not to kill him. But sources acknowledged he was in listening mode, asking potential rebels to tell him ‘what I can do’ to win them over.
After his massive election win, Mr Johnson is pictured here with the 2019 intake MPs. These are the Pork Pie plotters. Mr Wakeford is second.
Dehenna Davison with rescued puppy ‘Carter’ pictured next to Carrie Johnson with dog Dilyn and Rishi Sunak, canvasing in Bishop Auckland. It is believed she was one of the ringleaders.
Individual plotters were also targeted for special treatment. Mark Spencer, chief whip, made door visits. Miss Davison’s drinking buddy, Mr Wakeford was among several MPs who were warned by whips about the possibility of boundary changes in their constituencies leading to them being expelled at the next election.
One ally of Mr Wakeford said the whips had overplayed their hand – and claimed the threat was the final straw in his decision to defect to Labour.
Dramatic political theater was created by the move. As Mr Wakeford entered the Commons chamber, he was booed and hissed by Tory MPs.
Culture Secretary Nadine Dorries seethed that Mr Wakeford had yet to realise that the Union Jack face mask he was wearing ‘is not welcome on that side of the House’. Sir Keir Starmer made the most of it, boasting that the first Tory-to-Labour defection for 15 years showed he was ‘incapable of offering the leadership and Government this country deserves’.
However, the Tory benches were energized by the departure.
Prior to entering politics, Wakeford worked in a telecommunications company after he had studied at Lancaster University. Alexandria is his wife (photo taken together in 2019, after he won Bury South).
Today, Labour MPs rallied behind Mr Wakeford after he defend his foul-mouthed comments about the party last year in a Tory WhatsApp Group.
Speaking afterwards, one Cabinet minister said: ‘In an odd way things have suddenly got better with Wakeford going. Many people forget about the power of tribal politics. If someone switches to the tribe of another, you can feel attacked and your internal attacks are secondary.
‘If they really thought it was going to finish the PM off it just shows how delusional some of them are.’ The plot appeared to have taken off in part because of a downbeat interview given by the PM the previous day, in which he appeared visibly upset and complained that no-one had told him that a party in the No10 garden broke lockdown rules.
One Cabinet source said the PM’s show of contrition ‘may have played well with the public’ but ‘looked like weakness’ to some MPs. Another moment of drama occurred yesterday when David Davis, ex-Brexit Secretary, told Johnson to get out of the way over the matter.
Borrowing from a 1940 speech by Conservative Leo Amery to Tory premier Neville Chamberlain, he said: ‘I expect my leaders to shoulder responsibility for the actions they take. Yesterday he did the opposite… in the name of God, go.’ Mr Davis is a big figure, but no longer has much of a following in Parliament. Conor Burns, a close ally of the PM, described Mr Davis as ‘a loner’.
Today’s poll found the Tories trailing Labour by 11 points in key Red Wall seats. This is a drastic turnaround to the 9-point lead they held at the 2019 election.
Some backbench Tory plotters are Alicia Kearns (left), representing Melton Mowbray (right), and Gary Sambrook (right), from Birmingham Northfield
A Cabinet minister said he appeared to be trying to fill the role of ‘father figure’ to the young plotters in the hope it might improve his own political prospects.
In the early hours of the afternoon, an enormous whipping operation had begun to pay off in public. Members of the 2019 intake who were loyal to the PM were shown in front cameras.
Stuart Anderson, MP for Wolverhampton South West, said the Red Wallers were ‘not all rebels’. Stoke MP Jonathan Gullis claimed some rebel MPs were withdrawing their letters of no confidence – although he acknowledged he had not spoken to anyone who actually had.
Because of their sheer numbers, we must focus our attention on the new intake. The third largest proportion of the party’s members is represented by the 107 elected MPs in 2019.
Multiple lockdowns means Tory whips are less likely to be able to hold them back. But they are not the PM’s only problem. Another group of plotters gathered Tuesday night at the Carlton Club (original home of Conservative Party)
Guy Sambrook, Chris Loder, and Ben Spencer, all pork pie plotters were observed dining with William Wragg (ex-chief whip Mark Harper), who has made no secret about their opposition to PM.
The plot was revealed after Nadine Dorries (uber-loyalist) walked in to speak at a think-tank meeting in the same building. ‘They are idiots if they think the Carlton is a discreet place to hatch a plot,’ said one senior Tory, who suggested that Mr Harper is considering another leadership bid himself if he can help drive the PM from office.
‘He is pretty delusional about his abilities,’ the source added.
The publication of Sue Gray’s Partygate inquiry next week by Whitehall ethics chief Sue Gray appears to still be an ominous moment for the PM.
It could trigger a leadership election, warned several of the quieter MPs. One former minister said: ‘I haven’t put my letter in but I will do when Sue Gray’s report comes out unless it completely exonerates him – which it won’t.’
One member of Mr Johnson’s inner circle said the PM’s mood had brightened considerably after the events of yesterday and was ‘delighted’ by Mr Wakeford’s defection, believing it would give the warring Tory tribes a common enemy.
‘We’ve survived another day,’ the source said.
‘He was miserable at the weekend, telling people he was f*****. He’s more upbeat today.’
Johnson’s fate is uncertain. Yesterday, however, his adversaries showed their inexperience and lost vital momentum. This week, his friends are beginning to see the possibility that he could escape.