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More than 35 Tory MPs are calling on the prime minister to sack his senior aide. But No 10 has made it clear whose side it is on
The split between Downing Street and Conservative MPs over Dominic Cummings can be summarised in a single message. After a bank holiday weekend made up of Tory MPs venting their fury both on social media and over WhatsApp, Conservative MP Danny Kruger wrote to fellow MPs on Tuesday in a bid to calm them. After sharing sympathy over complaints from constituents and multiple media reports, Johnson’s former political secretary laid out a political truth: “No 10 won’t budge, so calling for DC to go is basically declaring no confidence in PM.”
As someone who worked full time in Downing Street up until last year’s general election when he became an MP, Kruger is well placed to speak for how the government plans to style this out. Since Johnson entered No 10, bringing many Vote Leave staff with him, there has been an effort to centralise power and a shift away from paying much attention to the parliamentary party. Johnson showed with Brexit that he was happy to withdraw the whip from MPs who disagreed with him. Kruger’s suggestion to MPs was that No 10 plans to do the same now. Continue reading...