Why Partygate could lead to a Boris Johnson by-election
Outgoing PM could lose his seat after privileges committee lowered its threshold
Boris Johnson could be forced into an autumn by-election if he is found to have misled the House of Commons and banned from Parliament for ten days.
The Telegraph reported that the committee looking into whether the outgoing PM lied to the Commons over illegal lockdown parties in Downing Street has been told that it only needs to prove that Johnson “misled” the House, rather than that he “deliberately” did so.
This lower threshold makes it much easier for the MPs on the privileges committee, which is chaired by Labour MP Harriet Harman, to find Johnson guilty and suspend him from the Commons.
Subscribe to The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.
Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
And in a “hugely significant bit of parliamentary fine print”, said Politico, Commons speaker Lindsay Hoyle has ruled that a suspension of ten days or more “would fall under the Recall Act, meaning Johnson could face a by-election in order to remain an MP”.
By-election would pose ‘major danger’
A by-election would present a “major danger for the Conservatives”, wrote Rachel Wearmouth, deputy political editor of The New Statesman, because it “would come at a time when, as the local elections proved, the Tories’ popularity in Greater London… has reached an all-time low”.
Johnson supporters had hoped that the privileges committee would use the traditional definition of lying to the Commons – that an MP must be proven to have “deliberately misled” the House – rather than lowering the bar of proof to find someone guilty for the act of misleading on its own.
The Independent noted that the committee said that “some have suggested” the inquiry is no longer necessary now Johnson has agreed to step down. “Our inquiry, however, is into the question of whether the House was misled, and political developments are of no relevance to that,” said the MPs.
Sign up for Today's Best Articles in your inbox
A free daily email with the biggest news stories of the day – and the best features from TheWeek.com
‘This is an impeachment’
MPs loyal to Johnson have reacted angrily to the news. Speaking to The Telegraph, one veteran Conservative MP described the development as “dynamite” and “an impeachment”. “It is absolutely outrageous,” they added.
A second senior Tory MP said the “only function” of the investigation “appears to be to stoke up prejudice” and that the committee members “clearly want to bury Boris and dance on his political grave”.
Motion signed
Conservative MPs including Bill Cash and Iain Duncan Smith have signed a motion denouncing the privileges committee’s behaviour. The motion expresses the House of Commons’ “concern with the publication of the report by the privileges committee” and “notes the divergence from the established convention of ‘deliberately misleading’”.
Conservatives have also complained that the privileges committee unanimously backed Labour grandee Harman to chair the investigation that could determine the current Tory leader’s fate.
The committee intends to call Johnson to give oral evidence in public in the autumn, under oath. When asked whether the PM would co-operate with the inquiry, his official spokesperson said: “We have said we will assist the committee in their work.”
Create an account with the same email registered to your subscription to unlock access.
Chas Newkey-Burden has been part of The Week Digital team for more than a decade and a journalist for 25 years, starting out on the irreverent football weekly 90 Minutes, before moving to lifestyle magazines Loaded and Attitude. He was a columnist for The Big Issue and landed a world exclusive with David Beckham that became the weekly magazine’s bestselling issue. He now writes regularly for The Guardian, The Telegraph, The Independent, Metro, FourFourTwo and the i new site. He is also the author of a number of non-fiction books.
-
Nigeria's worsening rate of maternal mortality
Under the radar Economic crisis is making hospitals unaffordable, with women increasingly not receiving the care they need
By Harriet Marsden, The Week UK Published
-
'Elevating Earth Day into a national holiday is not radical — it's practical'
Instant Opinion Opinion, comment and editorials of the day
By Harold Maass, The Week US Published
-
UAW scores historic win in South at VW plant
Speed Read Volkswagen workers in Tennessee have voted to join the United Auto Workers union
By Peter Weber, The Week US Published
-
Mark Menzies: Tories investigate MP after 'bad people' cash claims
Speed Read Fylde MP will sit as an independent while party looks into allegations he misused campaign funds on medical expenses and blackmail pay-out
By Arion McNicoll, The Week UK Published
-
Is David Cameron overshadowing Rishi Sunak?
Talking Point Current PM faces 'thorny dilemma' as predecessor enjoys return to world stage
By The Week UK Published
-
How will honeytrap scandal change Westminster?
Today's Big Question Security procedures laid bare by spear phishing attack as focus shifts to 'political insider' being responsible
By The Week UK Published
-
Will Aukus pact survive a second Trump presidency?
Today's Big Question US, UK and Australia seek to expand 'game-changer' defence partnership ahead of Republican's possible return to White House
By Sorcha Bradley, The Week UK Published
-
Farewell to Theresa May: a PM consumed by Brexit
Talking Point Maidenhead MP standing down at next general election
By The Week UK Published
-
Britain's biggest political donors
The Explainer With the 2024 general election set to be the highest-spending contest ever we look at who is giving to which party and why
By The Week UK Published
-
Can Boris Johnson save Rishi Sunak?
Today's Big Question Former PM could 'make the difference' between losing the next election and annihilation
By The Week UK Published
-
Badenoch, Johnson or 'full Trump': who is the future of the Tory Party?
Today's Big Question Tory moderates are preparing to do battle with the right of the party in a post-Sunak leadership election
By Sorcha Bradley, The Week UK Published