Andrew Gwynne, MP for Denton and Reddish, commenting on the resignation of Boris Johnson said:
“This whole sorry saga is like nothing I have seen in my entire political career. We’ve had to put up with a dishonest, inept and arrogant Prime Minister, propped up by spineless Tory MPs. They’ve finally forced him to resign, but only after he had done lasting damage to our national institutions and inflicted chaos on the public in the middle of a cost of living crisis.
Let’s be clear, the Prime Minister needs to go immediately. Not in a couple of months, but right now. If the last few days have proven anything, it is that it would be profoundly reckless to leave the keys of Number 10 in the hands of Boris Johnson. He has disregarded convention and tradition, and in the process incapacitated entire Government departments.
He’s lost over a third of his Government, and it is not right for the Tories to inflict upon the country a lame duck Prime Minister who can’t even command the respect of his Cabinet, let alone the electorate.
The Labour Party have been clear. If the Tories do not have the guts to get rid of him, we will act in the national interest and force a vote of no confidence in the Prime Minister in Parliament.
But I also want to be clear that removing one man will not remove the rot at the heart of the Conservative Party. The Tories have been in Government for 12 years, and in that time have unpicked our public services, left communities like mine in the lurch, and obliterated trust in politics.
We need a fresh start for Britain, and that simply can’t happen under the Tories. It’s time for a proper change of Government.