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Coronavirus

14th Jan 2021

Backbench Tories tell Boris Johnson to end lockdowns or face leadership bid

Boris Johnson could face a leadership bid if he does not end lockdown, senior Tories have threatened, according to reports

Reuben Pinder

The same group who ousted May are reportedly keen to oust Johnson

Boris Johnson’s place in 10 Downing Street could be under threat if he does not bring an end to his strategy of endless lockdowns, Tory MPs have warned the prime minister.

According to a Sun exclusive, backbench MP Steve Baker has said in aa note to MPs: “If we continue forward with a strategy that hammers freedom, hammers the private sector, hammers small business owners and hammers the poor, inevitably the Prime Minister’s leadership will be on the table.”

Baker was instrumental in ousting Theresa May from number 10, and could lead the charge to instal a new Conservative leader “if the Government does not set out a clear plan for when our full freedoms will be restored,” the note reads.

Baker supposedly told members of the lockdown-scpetic ‘Recovery Group’ that “people are telling me they are losing faith in our Conservative Party leadership.”

While not necessarily Covid-19 deniers, members of the Recovery Group are more concerned of the long term effects of lockdowns than the danger of the virus itself.

The Recovery Group have been told to demand “a guarantee that this strategy will not be used again next winter.”

“Government has adopted a strategy devoid of any commitment to liberty without any clarification about when our most basic freedoms will be restored and with no guarantee that they will never be taken away again,” the note says.

One wonders whether it has occurred to them that the reason we are in a third lockdown is because their government has not been able to control the virus, protect the NHS or save many lives. Locking down too late, reopening society too early, giving financial incentives to eat out and promising five days of freedom before Christmas only to renege on that promise have all contributed to the state we find ourselves in now.

Not to mention Johnson’s chief advisor breaching lockdown rules in May 2020 and getting off scot free leading to a complete loss of trust in the government’s guidelines.

Despite these reports, Baker did reiterate his public support for the PM on Twitter.