Thousands of angry Tory members DEMAND vote on Boris Johnson being reinstated as PM
More than 2,000 Tory members have written to the party’s chairman over the last 24 hours to demand that Boris Johnson be included as an option on the leadership ballot. The members wrote to express their support for a petition organised by Lord Cruddas, a Tory donor, and former Conservative MEP David Campbell-Bannerman.
It proposes that Mr Johnson be added as a third option on the final ballot to ensure that the winner has “integrity” and “the backing of the membership”.
Lord Cruddas noted that the Prime Minister was the party membership’s choice of leader in 2019, but has now been “constructively removed by the Parliamentary Party” without a vote from members.
Speaking to the Telegraph, Lord Cruddas said: “The membership wants the option of voting for Boris on the final ballot.
“We think it is only fair because Boris was the members’ choice back in 2019 and he has been constructively removed by the Parliamentary Party without referral to the membership
Penny Mordaunt received 92 votes, while Liz Truss took 86.
Supporters of Ms Truss have claimed that Ms Mordaunt’s campaign has “topped out” of backers, as she lost one vote in the latest round.
The final round of voting will take place this afternoon, with the result announced at 4pm.
Boris Johnson resigned earlier this month following a wave of resignations from his Government and a revolt from his own cabinet, leaving him unable to govern.
The chaos began after Chancellor Rishi Sunak and Health Secretary Sajid Javid announced their resignations.
Mr Johnson will stay in his post until Autumn when the new leader is decided.
The new Prime Minister is set to be announced by 5 September, after Conservative party members have voted on the two remaining candidates.
If one of the two final candidates drops out, the other would become leader without a membership ballot, but candidates have been asked to give assurances they will not do this.
