First-time rebel Andrew Jones has no regrets over anti-Boris Johnson vote

Being a political rebel does not come naturally to Andrew Jones – so much so that his vote against Boris Johnson this week was the first time in a 19-year career in public office he has ever gone against his own party leadership.

The Harrogate and Knaresborough MP, who served as a Conservative councillor from 2003 before making it to Parliament in 2010, says his decision to go against the Prime Minister was not a move he made lightly.

Jones, who served in ministerial posts under David Cameron and Theresa May, says it was a “very different” feeling from the one he had when supporting the latter as she faced a bruising confidence vote of her own in 2018.

“I have campaigned for my party for decades, I spent two terms as a councillor representing the centre of Harrogate and I have spent 12 years as a member of Parliament,” he reflects. “I have never voted against the administration or the leader. This was the first vote in decades where I have showed any dissent to a party leader.

“Consequently, it was an enormous measure and not one I took lightly. I had given it some very considerable thought before doing so and it was with some significant sadness I have to say – but I still did it.”

Despite finding it difficult, when asked if he regrets his decision Jones replies simply: “No.”

He adds: “I think I made the right decision. I think in politics you have to be true to your views otherwise you would be a thoroughly miserable and shallow person. It was with significant sadness but I do think I made the right call.”

Jones, who is originally from Ilkley, voted against Johnson in direct response to the PM’s involvement in and handling of the Partygate saga.

In January he released an initial statement on Partygate setting out his unhappiness at what had occurred and Jones says that in early February he had a one-to-one meeting with the Prime Minister in which he told him directly he was “angry, frustrated and disappointed” with him.

When asked if he was among the Tory MPs who wrote no confidence letters, Jones says that he considers his contact with the 1922 Committee to be confidential but adds that he had “expressed my views” to the committee.

Shortly after it was announced on Monday that the threshold of 54 no confidence letters to the 1922 Committee had been passed and a vote would take place that night, Jones issued a lengthy statement explaining why he would not be backing the Prime Minister.

He said that in addition to believing “lawmakers can’t be law breakers”, he was also unhappy about the Prime Minister’s past public explanations of the events set out in the Sue Gray report.

“In all the statements about the rules having been followed at all times the Prime Minister must have had a question mark in his mind over whether that was true because of what he had seen with his own eyes,” it said.

“Most would have thought better of making such definitive statements because most people would have known in their hearts that work meetings do not consist of party games and copious bottles of wine.

“So I believe that the Prime Minister, in addition to the fixed penalty notice, has shown a lack of judgement in making the many statements about Partygate that he did. Most people, having seen what he had seen, would have judged those statements to be untrue and therefore not made them.”

With the confidence vote being a secret ballot, Jones did not have to go public with his view but said he believed it to be “a matter of significant and entirely legitimate public interest”.

Jones says his loss of faith in the Prime Minister has come about from an accumulation of events rather than a specific moment.

“It is not a policy question. Let me be clear, I have not in any way changed my views that the Conservative manifesto on which I was elected is still the right thing for the country. This was about an individual rather than a set of political views.”

With Mr Johnson winning the confidence vote by 211 votes to 148 and now safe from another such ballot for a year under Tory Party rules, some – including Yorkshire MP David Davis – have argued the rebels should have ensured the vote took place after this month’s two by-elections and the Privileges Committee investigation into whether the Prime Minister misled Parliament over Partygate.

But Jones says the organic nature of the rebellion against the Prime Minister meant that was impossible.

“This hasn’t been an organised event. In the past we’ve had leadership challenges which have been organised by a particular faction or organised by supporters of an individual. This hasn’t been that - this has been a spontaneous set of letters going in from individuals which has been diverse across the party.

“It hasn’t been organised so it is hard to say you can do it a different day when that is the background. Politics is full of what ifs.”

There was an audible gasp from Tory MPs on Monday night when it was announced 148 of them had voted against the Prime Minister.

Jones says he was among those surprised by the depth of the rebellion.

“It was very hard to read because literally nobody knew what was going on. It was one of those days where you get lots of Parliamentary huddles.

“My personal guess was actually for a number between 100 and 120. So when it came out at 148, over 40 per cent of the party, I was really quite surprised. I think people were surprised and conversations I have had with colleagues since the result certainly reinforce that.”

Jones says he agrees with fellow Yorkshire MP Philip Davies, who rebelled against Johnson but said the Prime Minister’s victory must be accepted.

“Politicians who don’t recognise democratic votes get themselves into a world of difficulty. Look what happened with those who tried to overturn Brexit.

“I voted Remain but I understood that the British people were bigger than a politician.

“What I want to see now is a rebuilding of trust and confidence from the Prime Minister. That will mean the focus on the delivery of policy.”

Jones says Mr Johnson’s role in delivering the vaccine programme and spearheading much of the response to supporting Ukraine after the Russian invasion shows “he has got the capacity to get things done in a remarkable way”.

“We now need to see that happen in a consistent way across all policy areas. The questions we have got now are huge.

“We haven’t had the problem of inflation in our economy for so long – most people have never seen it before. We could be facing a period where we are dealing with that old 1970s word, stagflation.”

Jones says despite his reservations about the Prime Minister’s character, he would be happy to stand for the Tories at the next election if Mr Johnson is still leader.

He says: “I’m still a Conservative and I have absolutely no doubt that the principles that made me a become a Conservative in the first place are still the right thing for the country.”

Jones ready to take on Lib Dems again at next election

Andrew Jones says he is not overly concerned about the Liberal Democrats declaring his seat as their top Yorkshire target at the next election – but admits he has a fight on his hands despite his current 9,000 majority.

“I don’t think there is any such thing as a safe seat and there hasn’t been for many, many years. Everyone has to win their right to represent at every election.

“The Lib Dems have said Harrogate is their top target at every election for a number of years and I’m not quite sure how saying it this time differs from last time or the time before that.

But he adds that he was “acutely aware” of the local election results in the city, which resulted in the Lib Dems winning the most representation on the new North Yorkshire Council.

Jones says the result was primarily down to national politics.

“We have to work to ensure we get the trust back and ensure voters’ support in the future.”

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