Merseyside's only Conservative MP has refused to back Boris Johnson ahead of tonight's vote of no confidence in the Prime Minister.
A vote has now been triggered after the required number of Tory MPs wrote to Sir Graham Brady, chairman of the 1922 committee, to call for a contest that could see Mr Johnson removed from office. That vote will take place this evening.
Conservative MPs have been growing more uneasy and angry about the revelations of repeated law breaking in Parliament during the pandemic. Mr Johnson received a Fixed Penalty Notice from police for attending one party and has been heavily criticised for the widespread culture that existed under his leadership.
READ MORE: What is a vote of no confidence, how does it work and when will it take place
The secret ballot will see MPs vote to either remove or retain the Prime Minister. 180 votes of no confidence will be needed to see Mr Johnson toppled.
Merseyside only has one Conservative MP. Damien Moore was elected to represent Southport in 2017. Today he refused to back the Prime Minister and strongly suggested that he will vote to remove him this evening.
In a statement released to the ECHO, Mr Moore said: "I welcome that a vote of confidence has now been called into the Prime Minister’s leadership, which will take place later today. Conservative Prime Ministers rightly require not only the support of the country at large, but of the Parliamentary party too, in order to govern with any authority.
"From conversations with my constituents, I am very aware of the hurt and anger that the Prime Minister’s actions have caused, and so with the requisite number of the Conservative Parliamentary Party having now called for it, it is right that this vote takes place.
"As I have said before, I have never supported anyone blatantly breaking the covid rules, which were put in place to protect us all, and which the Sue Gray report, and the Metropolitan Police investigation, have now concluded that the current Prime Minister broke. I will publish an update after the result is announced."
Sir Graham Brady said he notified the Prime Minister on Sunday that the threshold had been reached and they agreed on timings for the vote together. The vote - which will be done by secret ballot - will take place at Westminster today (Monday) between 6pm and 8pm, with the count to take place immediately afterwards.
