Boris Johnson and what happens next: Vote on findings, by-elections and will Dorries resign?

Penny Mordaunt, the Commons Leader, yesterday confirmed that the Privileges Committee’s findings will be debated next week, on Mr Johnson’s 59th birthday.

Tory MPs are expected to have a free vote on the matter and that they will neither be compelled to attend the debate, nor whipped to vote on the party’s line.

This is set to expose rifts between Conservative MPs who back the former prime minister and those who want to see him being sanctioned.

Yesterday Nadine Dorries, the former culture secretary and Mr Johnson ally, said any Tories who vote against the former prime minister should be kicked out of the party.

But another close ally of Mr Johnson, Sir Jacob Rees-Mogg, said the Commons will “inevitably” vote in favour of the Privileges Committee report.

“Inevitably Boris will lose the vote because you have the whole of the Opposition against him… but you also have the Boris haters in the Conservative Party,” the former Cabinet minister told Sky News.

She advised MPs to read the report before taking a decision in a process she described as “painful” and “sad”, adding: “But all of us must do what we think is right and others must leave us alone to do so.”

Downing Street declined to be drawn on how Mr Sunak will vote, or whether he will even be in Parliament to participate in it on Monday.

Next month Mr Sunak will face a test of his own premiership in two by-elections on 20 July following the resignations of Nigel Adams and Mr Johnson.

The former prime minister quit his Uxbridge and South Ruislip seat to avoid the judgement of the Privileges Committee, followed by Mr Adams who resigned his Selby seat in advance of his plans to stand down at the next election.

Mr Johnson held his west London seat with a majority of 7,210 in 2019 but Labour hopes to take advantage of the Tory turmoil to win.

In Mr Adams’ seat, he took 60 per cent of the vote and won a majority of 20,137 in 2019.

Labour came second with 25 per cent of the vote, 35 percentage points behind the Tories.

Yesterday the Yorkshire Party announced that their candidate for the by-election will be a former Tory councillor who quit Rishi Sunak’s party in protest last week.

It comes after The Yorkshire Post revealed that Mike Jordan had submitted his application following his resignation.

Coun Jordan said: “Nothing is achievable without real local powers. Yorkshire needs a Regional Parliament, controlling a fair budget.

“Vote for it and make London listen. When the Yorkshire Party wins, Yorkshire wins.”

The Prime Minister also faces the prospect of another by-election, after Nadine Dorries said she would quit her Mid Bedfordshire seat with immediate effect.

However, that contest has been delayed after she vowed to stay on while she investigates how she was denied her expected peerage in Mr Johnson’s resignation honours.

Ms Dorries said she will not formally step down as an MP until she gets answers from Downing Street about the decision to deny her a peerage – a move that will prolong the by-election struggle for Mr Sunak.

The former culture secretary insisted it is “absolutely my intention to resign” but said her requests for documents “is now sadly necessary” as she accused No 10 of “varying and conflicting statements” over her absence from Mr Johnson’s resignation honours list.

Downing Street has expressed bewilderment at her delay in officially quitting, following her announcement last week that she would depart her Mid Bedfordshire seat “with immediate effect”.

In a series of tweets on Wednesday evening, Ms Dorries responded to “much speculation” about when she will resign in writing.

“To put an end to this … I am awaiting responses to my subject access requests submitted to HOLAC (House of Lords Appointments Commission), Cabinet Secretary and the Cabinet Office where I will then take the time to properly consider the information I am provided,” she wrote.

“I have requested copies of WhatsApps, text messages, all emails and minutes of meetings both formal and informal with names of senior figures unredacted…

“It is absolutely my intention to resign, but given what I know to be true and the number of varying and conflicting statements issued by No10 since the weekend, this process is now sadly necessary.”