Boris Johnson could face a crunch vote as early as tomorrow as Tory rebels step up their bid to topple him.
The PM is under fire from his own MPs over Partygate, his response to the Sue Gray report, the cost of living crisis and dire poll ratings.
Reports yesterday claimed the threshold of 54 letters to 1922 Committee chairman Sir Graham Brady needed for triggering a confidence vote has been crossed, with 67 sent.
But if Mr Johnson wins the poll, Best for Britain campaign chief Naomi Smith exclusively revealed to the Mirror how the group plots to oust him from No10 with tactical voting at the next election.
And she revealed the plan is “incredibly personal” to her after her died during the pandemic, while Tories were illegally partying.
Naomi said: “My father was hospitalised for six months and we were not allowed to visit him or see him. We were eventually allowed in to see him 45 minutes before he died in April 2021.
“The pain that he suffered, the loneliness at his darkest hour, at his most frightened, no one deserves that.
“To then learn these people were not just breaking the rules but were mocking us, laughing about it, patting themselves on the back for thinking they’d got away with it, sickens you to the stomach.”
While some Labour insiders admit the chances of an outright majority for Keir Starmer at the next election remain slim – they expect the only way he could wield power might be as the leader of the largest party supported by the Scottish and Welsh nationalists, Lib Dems and the Greens – Naomi hopes voters can still get rid of Mr Johnson.
She said: “Tactical voting is the best way to get Boris Johnson out of No10, purely because it will be the only tool left in the arsenal of those who want it.
“Short of standing aside for each other in marginal seats, the only thing left under the voting system we are currently stuck with is to give people advice about who to vote for.”
Best for Britain will provide a simple system where electors type in their postcode and are told which party they should vote for if they want to stop a Tory candidate.
Naomi added: “We will do a tactical voting operation whenever the next general election is and we are ready for that whether it’s in six months or 24.”
A survey yesterday showed the Tories are poised to lose the by-election in Wakefield, West Yorks – trailing Labour by 28% to 48%.
They could also be defeated by the Lib Dems at the contest for Tiverton and Honiton in Devon.
Transport Secretary Grant Shapps yesterday insisted Mr Johnson would not face a vote of confidence this week, despite the growing fury at the PM from within his own ranks.
Asked if his leader would win such a contest if it took place, he replied: “Yes, he will.”
Some Tories want to wait until June 24 – the day after two crunch by-elections - to decide whether to demand a vote of no confidence in Mr Johnson.
