Leeds LibDems call on Conservative councillors to stand up for democracy

Leeds LibDems call on Conservative councillors to stand up for democracy and pressure MP colleagues to vote for Boris Johnson censure motion

Conservative MPs Stuart Andrew, Andrea Jenkyns and Alec Shelbroke urged to vote for Boris Johnson censure motion

Cllr Stewart Golton, Leader of the Liberal Democrat Group on Leeds City Council has called on local Conservative MPs to vote for a motion in Parliament next week to censure Boris Johnson.

It comes after the Privileges Committee recommended Boris Johnson is suspended for 90 days for “deliberately misleading” Parliament over partygate.

The Liberal Democrats said voting against the motion would be “an insult to bereaved families who grieved alone while Boris Johnson partied.” The vote to approve the Privileges Committee’s recommendations is expected in Parliament on Monday 19 June. 

Cllr Golton commented:

“This report is completely unprecedented. Never before has a former British Prime Minister been found to have lied to Parliament and treated the public with such contempt. His vitriol towards fellow MPs on the Priveleges Committee has further demonstrated his disrespect for the high standards expected in public life."

"Alec Shelbroke, Stuart Andrew and Andrea Jenkyns need to examine their conscience and confirm they will vote to censure Boris Johnson. Anything less would be an insult to bereaved families in Leeds who grieved alone while Boris Johnson lied and partied."

Cllr Sandy Lay, Chair of the Leeds Liberal Democrat Group, has also written to the city's Conservative councillors to put pressure on their MPs

"Many Conservative candidates chose to call themselves 'Local Conservatives' on the ballot paper this year to try and disassociate themselves from the infighting in Westminster. Boris Johnson's use of the term 'Kangaroo Court' to describe the all-party Priveleges Committee is unbecoming of an ex-Prime Minister, and we would hope decent Conservatives would actively want to disassociate themselves from that kind of behaviour."

The Liberal Democrat Group appreciate that the likelihood of getting all the city's MPs to censure the Ex-Prime Minister would be surprising.

Cllr Golton continued:

“Andrea Jenkyns has been rewarded with a Damehood in Boris Johnson's resignation honours in recognition of her blind loyalty to him, so a U-turn at this stage would be a long shot. I hope the other two Conservative MPs will show more allegiance to the Institution of Parliament than any one individual. It’s time that Conservative MPs consigned Boris Johnson to history and focused on tackling the problems facing the country, from the NHS crisis to the cost of living.”