The party went on a “backstop” plan to ensure Johnson did not shy away from control after Downing Street refused to pledge to replace Christopher Gide, who resigned last week over alleged code-breaking violations by the prime minister. Labor leader Keir Starmer will say that if the role is not fulfilled by August 16, then a parliamentary committee chaired by a Tory MP who is highly critical of Johnson should be able to nominate someone for to perform its duties effectively. The Ministerial Adviser will refer to the Committee on Public Administration and Constitutional Affairs (Pacac) and will have the power to initiate his or her own investigations into breaches of the Ministerial Code, to request the committee to request documents and to call witnesses and to draw up a final report. Those who refuse to comply with the committee’s request could be judged in contempt of parliament. A Tory MP said: “Before the vote of confidence, the Prime Minister promised my conservative fellow MPs that he would change, and many of them believed him. “If he chooses not to replace Lord Geidt, that shows them how small his promises are.” As the move would create a new seat in the House of Commons rather than in government, Labor sources were confident the proposal would be binding if approved during a debate on opposition day on Tuesday. William Wragg, the Tory MP who chairs the Pacac, has in the past called for Johnson to resign following the Partygate scandal. Given Johnson’s 80-seat majority, government whips are likely to have the numbers to vote against it. Many MPs are also expected to be absent from Westminster on Tuesday due to railway strikes and a final push by militants ahead of Thursday’s two re-elections in Wakefield and Tiverton and Honiton. Labor sources believe that Tory MPs will be ordered to vote against the resolution and that Downing Street will argue that Johnson should not face possible further inquiries, while he is still being investigated by the prerogative committee for alleged misleading parliament. But one said: “If the government decides to ignore our proposal, it is an admission that it can not order their side to vote against it.” Labor Vice President Angela Reiner said Johnson had left a “moral vacuum” on Downing Street and that No. 10 should take “special measures to prevent this prime minister from violating the rules, avoiding accountability and degrading standards in public life. “. He added that while the “stupid” prime minister was “supported in power” by Conservative MPs, the proposal would ensure that a cross-party group of MPs would have the power to “intervene and monitor the behavior of this rogue prime minister until a new, truly independent adviser is confirmed.” ». Rayner said that in addition to replacing Geidt, the government’s ethics adviser should also significantly strengthen his powers. Subscribe to the First Edition, our free daily newsletter – every morning at 7 p.m. BST Gade resigned last week after accusing Johnson of trying to break the ministerial code, which No. 10 said was about tariffs on steel that may have violated World Trade Organization rules. But Geidt went on to say that Downing Street’s reason for leaving was a “distraction” and that the steel issue was “merely an example of what could be a deliberate breach by the United Kingdom of its obligations under of international law “. It was reported at the weekend that Geidt was to meet with two Tory lawmakers at the heart of a complaint he was hearing the day he resigned. Nusrat Ghani claimed that her “Muslimism” had developed when she was fired from a ministerial post in 2020 and said she had been told she was “creating uncomfortable colleagues”. Mark Spencer, then the leader of the whip, identified himself as the member of government who spoke with Ghani, but said the allegations were “completely false and I consider them slanderous”. Geidt’s report on the investigation remains unpublished, and the Liberal Democrats have called on Johnson to ensure his release.
