Boris Johnson blow as Labour opens up 10-point gap over Tories as anger grows over No 10 partygate fiasco
BORIS Johnson's Tories have fallen 10 points behind Labour as public anger swells over No 10's lockdown-busting parties, a bombshell poll reveals today.
The Conservatives have slumped to just 28% according to the new survey - their lowest predicted vote share since the PM won the 2019 election.
Their support has tumbled five points on this time last week following seven days of torrid headlines for the Government over Covid rule breaking.
In contrast the poll predicts Sir Keir Starmer's Labour would win 38% of the vote if an election were called now.
That would give him a slender Commons majority of four and see the PM lose his Uxbridge seat, according to the Electoral Calculus model.
It would also be the party's biggest lead over the Tories since December 2013.
YouGov's survey puts the Lib Dems on 13%, the Greens on 7%, the SNP on 5%, and the Reform UK party on 4%.
It found six in 10 Brits think Boris should resign, including 38% of people who voted Tory at the last election.
A whopping 78% of the public don't think he's been honest about No 10 parties, including almost two-thirds of Conservative backers.
The fieldwork for it was carried out before the PM admitted he attended a party in the Downing St garden.
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And today one gloomy minister warned "it's all over" for Boris as the backlash against him over the No 10 parties spirals.
They told The Times: "It’s just not defensible and it’s astonishing how little support he has within the parliamentary party."
The PM yesterday issued a grovelling apology to the Commons as he admitted that he did attend the May 2020 event in the No 10 garden.
Boris said that he stayed for 25 minutes at the drinks event with around 40 other people - but claimed he didn't realise it was a party.
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He did acknowledge that he should have ordered his staff back to their desks and said he understood the anger many Brits feel.
No 10 insists the PM wasn't sent an invitation email to the bash which told workers to bring their own booze and enjoy the good weather.
During a fiery Commons showdown yesterday Sir Keir branded the PM's excuses "ridiculous" and "insulting" and told him to resign.
And even one Tory MP admitted the apology "hasn't changed a single mind" although they said it will buy Boris some time.
They added: "He’s made the relationship more transactional than ever."
Boris is said to have made things worse with mutinous MPs by insisting after the Commons apology that he hadn't done anything wrong.
During a tearoom chat with colleagues he said the party row was "not his fault and he's bravely taking the blame for others".
This attitude "caused much consternation among colleagues" according to a report by the BBC.
The Prime Minister is the right person to be Prime Minister. I think we will be able to go forward and win a general election.
Northern Ireland Secretary Brandon Lewis
Northern Ireland secretary Brandon Lewis today defended the PM, who he said is the "right person" to lead the country.
He predicted Boris "will win the next election" by delivering his reform agenda on Levelling Up and social care reform.
The cabinet minister added people should wait for a report by senior civil servant Sue Gray into the parties before drawing conclusions.
How chancellor Rishi Sunak, who has so far only offered his boss lukewarm support, reacts to those findings will be critical.
And the PM is now fighting on yet another new front after a bitter schism erupted between Tories in Scotland and England.
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Douglas Ross, who leads the party north of the border, is the most senior Conservative so far to have called for Boris to go.
He has been publicly backed by 26 out of the party's 31 MSPs, and it's understood the remaining five privately support his view.
But in response two senior Cabinet ministers poured scorn on Mr Ross and suggested his opinion didn't matter.
Commons leader Jacob Rees-Mogg said he was a "lightweight" and isn't a "big figure" within the party.
Levelling Up Secretary Michael Gove meanwhile said of Mr Ross' remarks: "My instant response is he's in Elgin and the national Tory leader is in London".
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The SNP's leader in Westminster, Ian Blackford, pounced on the remarks and said they "underline the disdain senior Tories hold for Scotland".
