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The Tory leadership battle heated up today after the Peterborough by-election disaster rattled nerves in the party’s high command.
Boris Johnson notched up two more public endorsements from backbenchers who said he was best placed to stop Jeremy Corbyn picking up the keys to No 10.
NHS consultant-turned-MP Caroline Johnson and ex-minister Sir Mike Penning blamed “can-kicking” over Brexit for the third-place finish for the Tories.
Former Cabinet fixer Sir Oliver Letwin swung behind Mr Johnson’s nearest rival Michael Gove, saying he could deliver a “sensible deal” to leave the EU.
Chancellor Philip Hammond called for “a leader who has a pragmatic solution to the impasse”.
The Labour leader was mired in a new storm over anti-Semitism as a Jewish group called for the whip to be suspended from winning candidate Lisa Forbes even before she takes her seat in the Commons. But on a visit to Peterborough, Mr Corbyn insisted: “We had a fantastic candidate.”
In key developments:
– Labour held off an onslaught by the Brexit Party to hold on to Peterborough by only 683 votes. But at a much-reduced 31 per cent, their vote share was the lowest ever recorded by a winning side in a Westminster by-election.
– Mr Corbyn’s celebrations were further marred when Labour MP Dame Margaret Hodge said she had “seriously mixed feelings” about the victory, while MP Wes Streeting said his party was “normalising anti-Semitism”.
– One of Mr Corbyn’s shadow cabinet allies backed a second referendum if there was a danger of Britain crashing out of the EU in a no-deal Brexit. Andy McDonald told BBC Radio 4’s Today programme: “Any deal that would come through Parliament should go back to the people — we should have a second vote.”
– Polling analysis claimed the Conservatives would lose 10 out of their 21 seats in London in a general election in a Brexit backlash, with MPs at risk including Mark Field, Justine Greening, Zac Goldsmith, Stephen Hammond and Theresa Villiers.
The by-election was held after former Labour MP Fiona Onasanya was convicted of lying about a speeding offence.
The Peterborough by-election was held after former Labour MP Fiona Onasanya was convicted of lying about a speeding offence.
Ms Forbes won with 10,484 votes, with Mike Greene of the Brexit Party coming second on 9,801. Tory candidate Paul Bristow came third with 7,243, a better result than expected, while the Liberal Democrat candidate Beki Sellick was pushed into fourth place on 4,159.
The Jewish Labour Movement immediately called for the party whip to be removed from Ms Forbes. The group said she was “a perfect example” of the party’s tolerance of “someone who has shared racist material”.
The voting suggested Remain supporters in the pro-Leave constituency backed Labour to deny Mr Farage’s party a first Westminster seat, although Labour credited its ground-level operation.
Tory leadership candidates argued the message was that in a general election the Brexit Party would split the Tory vote and hand ultimate victory to Labour.
Mr Johnson was first out of the traps to tweet a warning: “Conservatives must deliver Brexit by 31st October or we risk Brexit Party votes delivering Corbyn to No 10.” Two Conservative backbenchers endorsed his leadership bid after the count.
Dr Johnson, winner of a 2016 by-election in Sleaford, Lincolnshire, said: “The by-election result shows we can no longer faff around delaying Brexit. We’ve got to deliver it and get on with re-building a one-nation party that can defeat Jeremy Corbyn and John McDonnell.”
Former guardsman Sir Mike said: “This paralysis is putting Britain at risk of a Marxist who would damage the country I served beyond recognition. I can’t stand for that. It’s time for Boris.”
At a meeting of finance ministers in Japan, Mr Hammond warned against “snap judgments” based on the Peterborough defeat, saying a Brexiteer could be thwarted in Parliament. “Changing the leader in itself doesn’t change the facts. It doesn’t change the arithmetic in Parliament,” he said.
Mr Johnson now has 47 public endorsements, compared with 32 for Mr Gove, 29 for Jeremy Hunt, 25 for Dominic Raab, 19 for Sajid Javid and 15 for Matt Hancock.
The polling analysis was carried out by Focaldata, using Opinium and YouGov data, and commissioned by Hope Not Hate and Best For Britain.
The end of Theresa May’s reign as Tory leader was due today in a private exchange of letters with the backbench 1922 Committee.
