SENIOR Tory MP Tobias Ellwood has called on fellow Conservative MPs to assess whether Boris Johnson is still fit to be leader of the party.
The former defence minissaid that ‘it’s for other colleagues to take a stock check, not just for these elections, but also in the next couple of weeks.
‘We know there’s more evidence to come out, the Sue Gray report as well.’
He said ‘trust has been breached with the British people and it is the duty of every single Conservative MP to make that assessment and then act accordingly’.
Asked about fellow Tories downplaying the party’s losses, he said: ‘We are haemorrhaging support in parts of the country, there’s some serious issues going on’.
‘There are going to be a lot of very nervous Conservative MPs watching these results coming in across southern England.
‘It might not end up being a disastrous result for the Tories everywhere, which helps Boris Johnson survive as leader.
‘But many of them will be realising their once safe seats are under threat.
‘It may not be dramatic enough to lead to a coup against the PM.
‘However, those MPs will be assessing if he is a vote winner for them or not.’
Liberal Democrat leader Sir Ed Davey, however, says his party will seize Conservative constituencies at the next general election.
The Lib Dems now have over 500 council seats in England and Scotland.
Speaking in front of party activists at Wimbledon Common, Davey said: ‘I’m excited about all those seats across the Blue Wall which, frankly, we haven’t been players in for a long time.’
He describes the results as an ‘historic moment’ for the party and says the ‘tectonic plates of British politics are shifting’.
The Lib Dems also took control of Hull City Council from Labour.
Davey claims Conservatives were being dragged down by a ‘discredited’ prime minister, and warned if Boris Johnson remains in place, the ‘Liberal Democrats are coming for you.’
A significant win for the Liberal Democrats, means they will be in control of the newly-created unitary authority for the county of Somerset.
The party has so far managed a net gain of 124 councillors across England – more than any other party across the country.
The party’s also seen a net gain of 16 seats in Scotland – second only to the Scottish National Party so far.
Another significant win for the Liberal Democrats, will be control of the newly-created unitary authority for the county of Somerset.
- Sinn Féin vice-president Michelle O’Neill has been elected in Mid-Ulster with 10,845 first preference votes – with the highest voter turnout of 69.5%.
Sinn Féin candidates have also been elected in Belfast – Gerry Kelly and Carál Ní Chuilín have been elected in Belfast North, and Sinn Féin’s Danny Baker has been elected in Belfast West.
Kelly won 8,395 first preference votes and Ní Chuilín won 7,943 – the quota was 7,672.
So far, five of the 90 seats up for grabs in the Northern Ireland assembly have been filled.
The Democratic Unionist Party (DUP) and Sinn Féin are battling it out for top spot in the election -– with the majority party being given the right to nominate the next first minister.
The DUP won 28 seats at the last Assembly elections in 2017, just ahead of Sinn Féin which returned 27 MLAs.
