Leadership contest during Covid would be ‘self-indulgent’, says Conservative MP

Conservative MP Sir Charles Walker has told BBC Radio 4’s Today programme that a challenge to Boris Johnson’s leadership while the country tackles Covid would be “self indulgent”.

He argued that last night’s Lib Dem victory in North Shropshire was because “people are tired, angry, exhausted, 20 months of a pandemic” but admitted that “mistakes have been made – the Prime Minister will be the first to admit mistakes have been made”.

The Conservatives 22,949 majority in North Shropshire has been overturned after Liberal Democrat Helen Morgan swept to victory with 17,957 votes in yesterday’s by-election.

Ms Morgan previously finished third as the seat’s candidate in the 2019 general election.

This a major blow for the Tories in a seat they have more or less held for two centuries.

Ms Morgan is an staunch Remainer who in August 2019 compared Boris Johnson to Hitler in during a pro-EU rally, while her new constituency voted 60% in favour of Leave at the 2016 EU Referendum.

Sir Charles downplayed the result, which represents the third-biggest swing against the Conservatives in a by-election since 1945, arguing that “normal business has resumed” after a few years of “defying political gravity”.

He went on: “Of course it’s a really bad morning, of course we would have liked to have won it, but it doesn’t meant the end – and it certainly doesn’t mean a leadership challenge”.

“The Conservative Party is certainly not going to have leadership challenge as we head into potentially further restrictions around Covid and difficulties around Covid – that would be completely self-indulgent.”