What do today’s local election results mean for the stalled rebellion against Boris Johnson within his own party? “The milk is simmering on the stove,” a leading rebel tells me. It is not boiling after today’s results, they say, “but the temperature is rising”.
Stop me if you have heard this script before. When, Harry, when? When will the Tory rebels move? This morning I asked three rebel MPs to interpret the results, and the prospects of a vote of no-confidence in Johnson this summer. The rebels remain as unsure as they have been for some time. The facts remain the same: I am told that many MPs are holding off submitting no-confidence letters to the 1922 Committee (54 are required), and have also advised wavering colleagues to do the same, as it is “all about” precipitating a vote “at the right moment”. “It will be sudden when it happens,” I am assured.
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