THE Conservative Party could consider a rule change to allow MPs to vote on removing Boris Johnson as prime minister and leader of the party.

Chris Loder has said the 1922 Committee will be “considering” that prime minister Boris Johnson recently survived a vote of no confidence and hinted that rules may be changed to allow another vote to take place sooner.

The Tory MP for West Dorset told BBC Radio 4’s Today programme: “Not necessarily today, but we know that there are forthcoming elections to the 1922 Committee executive.

“Of course, it is within the gift of the executive to make amendments to those rules should they so wish, and we are at a point of democracy within the Conservative Party itself to actually return an executive reflective of the views of the back benches.

South Wales Argus:

“I have no idea who’s going to stand, I suspect we will hear a little bit more about that over the next day or so. I certainly think now that those who stand for the 1922 Committee executive should consider that course of action now.”

The prime minister is under pressure following a wave of resignations.

Rishi Sunak quit as chancellor on Tuesday, alongside Sajid Javid who resigned as health secretary, in a move that came just as the prime minister was being forced into a humiliating apology to address the row over scandal-hit former deputy chief whip Chris Pincher.

Mr Sunak said: “the public rightly expect government to be conducted properly, competently and seriously”, adding: “I believe these standards are worth fighting for and that is why I am resigning.”

South Wales Argus:

Mr Javid said the British people “expect integrity from their government” but voters now believed Mr Johnson’s administration was neither competent nor “acting in the national interest”.

Why have cabinet ministers resigned?

The controversy stemming from the resignation of Mr Pincher had engulfed Downing Street in recent days, as the prime minister faced questions about how much he knew of the allegations and rumours surrounding the Tory MP before he was appointed as deputy chief whip.

Mr Pincher quit as deputy chief whip last week following claims that he groped two men at the upmarket Carlton Club, but Mr Johnson knew about allegations against him as far back as 2019.

The Prime Minister acknowledged he should have sacked Mr Pincher when he was found to have behaved inappropriately when he was a Foreign Office minister in 2019, but instead Mr Johnson went on to appoint him to other government roles.

Asked if that was an error, Mr Johnson said: “I think it was a mistake and I apologise for it. In hindsight it was the wrong thing to do.

“I apologise to everybody who has been badly affected by it. I want to make absolutely clear that there’s no place in this Government for anybody who is predatory or who abuses their position of power.”