U.K. Prime Minister Boris Johnson will likely get little respite from mounting calls for his resignation over “partygate,” according to weekend news reports.
Johnson is coming under increasing pressure over rule-breaking parties in Downing Street during the pandemic, and he’s already been fined by police. Ministers on Thursday backed a motion from the opposition Labour Party for Johnson to be referred to a panel to investigate whether he misled lawmakers over the events in his and other government offices.
While he is unlikely to be facing any imminent danger, the i newspaper reported late Sunday that Tory rebels were planning coordinated action to oust Johnson should the party incur heavy losses in May’s local elections. Later, the Times cited an unnamed senior official as saying a report by senior civil servant Sue Gray into the parties, which has yet to be released, was set to be highly critical of Johnson and the culture in No. 10 under his leadership and may be enough to force his resignation.
Still, the Tory party chair said this weekend that changing the U.K.’s leader now would be “seriously damaging to the country.” Oliver Dowden told Sky News on Sunday that he expects Johnson to lead the party into the next general election, expected in about two years.
Johnson could also make preparations for an early general election in a bid to ease pressure from within his party for a leadership challenge, the Mail on Sunday reported, citing people in government it didn’t identify. The prospect of a vote as early as 2023 could quiet rebels as it would leave insufficient time for a new leader to bed in before polling day, the newspaper said.
