Cheshire MPs reaction to Boris Johnson resignation

Eddisbury MP Edward Timpson has said he backs Boris Johnson’s decision to resign and will support his successor.

Mr Timpson’s office released a statement after Mr Johnson told the country he is resigning but will stay on until the new leader is in place.

A spokesperson for the Eddisbury MP said: “Mr Timpson supports the Prime Minister in his decision, and will support his successor when they are elected in due course.

“As Mr Timpson has made plain throughout this testing period for the Government, his focus continues to be doing the right thing by his Eddisbury constituents and improving the life chances of young people.”

Earlier this year, the Eddisbury MP was highly critical of the antics of those involved in the Partygate scandal.

In April he told the Local Democracy Reporting Service (LDRS) it is ‘shameful’ those setting the rules didn’t follow them during lockdown.

Crewe and Nantwich MP Kieran Mullan has not spoken officially since Mr Johnson made his statement, but has previously made it clear the PM had lost his support.

In a social media post last night (Wednesday) Dr Mullan said: “I haven’t released a letter saying I don’t support the PM because I already explained publicly that I had voted against the Prime Minister at the time of the vote.

“I also said then that the Prime Minister lost my support some time before that which I explained to him face to face myself.”

Meanwhile, Weaver Vale Labour MP Mike Amesbury didn’t hold back, saying it was good to see the back of the ‘discredited, law-breaking PM’.

Mr Amesbury said: “I’m sure I speak for many of us in saying it’s good to finally see the back of the discredited, law-breaking PM Boris Johnson, although I note he never said sorry for demeaning the office of Prime Minister and the reputation of Britain.

“But enough is enough. They’re just shuffling the deckchairs around the sinking ship of a Conservative government that is out of time and out of ideas after 12 years. They will try and reinvent themselves with a Tory leadership beauty contest with no beauty.

He added: “They will spend months now, navel-gazing, scurrying around like rats. But whoever becomes the anointed Tory Prime Minister should do the right thing and go to the country by calling a general election to give people the chance to vote for the Government they deserve.

“One that focuses on the bread and butter issues in terms of helping people through this cost of living crisis – food poverty, spiralling energy bills – properly resources our public services and gives people a fair deal in these challenging times.”

But three other MPs in Cheshire East have remained tight-lipped throughout the Boris Johnson saga and refused to let local residents know their views.

Tatton MP Esther McVey, Congleton MP Fiona Bruce and Macclesfield MP David Rutley have been approached several times by the Local Democracy Reporting Service for a comment about the Prime Minister’s behaviour over the past few months.

None responded to LDRS requests to comment about the Partygate saga and the Prime Minister being fined.

None replied to questions this week about whether they were still backing Mr Johnson in light of recent events.

None have responded to requests today for a statement about Mr Johnson’s resignation.

Cheshire East Council’s Labour leader has attacked Conservative MPs for supporting Boris Johnson “long after it became clear he was lacking in integrity”.

Cllr Sam Corcoran also took a swipe at Congleton MP Fiona Bruce, who has failed to let constituents know her views on the Boris Johnson saga over the past few months.

Speaking after Mr Johnson announced he was resigning, Cllr Corcoran said: “It amazed me how many Conservative MPs were willing to support Boris Johnson long after it became clear he was lacking in integrity and even after he was found to have broken a law that he set.

“I was shocked my own MP, Fiona Bruce, didn’t speak out against his unethical behaviour and I am sure she will now be embarrassed to have been so fulsomely praised by Boris Johnson in response to her question at Prime Minister’s Questions yesterday.”

Deputy council leader Craig Browne (Ind) said the PM’s resignation had surprised no one.

He added the country needed politicians who put people before party.

He said: “The Prime Minister’s resignation today comes as little surprise to anyone, as it had become clear that his position was untenable.

“The important question that must now be asked is who, if anyone, within the Conservative Party – or for that matter, the Labour Party – is fit to replace him?

“Mr Johnson was largely elected on a mandate of ‘getting Brexit done’, but beyond this slogan his successor needs to have a clear plan to deliver meaningful change which addresses the key issues facing both our country and our communities today, namely: levelling up, highways and transport, cost inflation and business supply chain issues, energy and the environment, as well as Britain’s role as a strategic international partner.

“Over the last few years we have started to see a growing public frustration with the tired old politics of left or right, red or blue, Labour or Conservative and the tribalism they both represent.

“At local level, as independents, we have sought to offer an honest, hard-working and credible alternative.

“At the local elections in May 2022, more independent councillors were elected across the country than ever before, but to date this has not translated into independent MPs being elected to Westminster; this needs to change.

“If the national political events of recent weeks and months demonstrate anything, it is that Westminster is in desperate need of an independent political conscience, that isn’t bound by party loyalty.

“We need politicians who act in the best interests of the people, rather than in that of their own party.”