When each Surrey MP called on Boris Johnson resign and what they said

Several are considered as contenders to replace him in an upcoming leadership contest

Boris Johnson leaving 10 Downing Street to attend Prime Minister's Questions — Boris Johnson will resign as Prime Minister (Image: Getty Images)

After a dramatic 48 hours in which over 50 Conservative MPs resigned from positions in the government, Boris Johnson is expected to announce his resignation later on Thursday (July 7). The announcement is expected to signal the start of a leadership campaign within the party, and several of Surrey's MPs are set to be contenders.

All 11 of the county's Members of Parliament are Conservative. They include current deputy prime minister Dominic Raab, business secretary Kwasi Kwarteng and Michael Gove, who was sacked from his position in the Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities on Wednesday night.

Many of the Surrey MPs have called for Mr Johnson to leave at some point during the dramatic past few months in which he has been engulfed in the Partygate scandal, narrowly survived a confidence vote, and faced a flurry of resignations over his handling of allegations of inappropriate sexual behaviour by Chris Pincher MP.

Below is a list of what each Surrey MP has said about Mr Johnson's leadership in recent days and weeks, based on the latest information that we have.

Sir Paul Beresford MP (Mole Valley)

Sir Paul backed Boris Johnson's leadership campaign in 2019. However, he was quoted in the Guardian earlier this year, calling Mr Johnson "amazingly stupid" for attending a gathering in May 2020 and said he was "on licence". He has not been reported as making any public statements about the PM's position in recent days.

Crispin Blunt MP (Reigate)

Mr Blunt did not reveal how he voted in last month's no confidence vote. However, in an email sent to a constituent who raised concerns about the PM’s behaviour, he called the complaints “single-minded sanctimonious bilge” and that he continued to support Mr Johnson. SurreyLive is not aware of any public statements he has made on the subject in recent days.

Claire Coutinho (East Surrey)

Ms Coutinho was a Parliamentary Private Secretary at the Treasury until she resigned shortly after 1pm on Wednesday. Explaining her decision, she wrote: "I firmly believe that what we need now is a laser-like grip on reforming our public services so that they work better for our constituents and focus on charting a path to prosperity through what is an increasingly challenging global outlook. I think the events of recent weeks and months are preventing us from doing that."

Michael Gove MP (Surrey Heath)

Mr Gove, who had been serving in Johnson's cabinet as Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, was sacked by the Prime Minister on Wednesday evening after advising him to resign earlier in the day. The fact that details of that supposedly private meeting were leaked to the media seems to have played a role in the decision, with a Downing Street source telling the BBC: "You can't have a snake who is not with you on any of the big arguments who then gleefully tells the press the leader has to go."

Chris Grayling MP (Epsom & Ewell)

Mr Grayling stopped being Secretary of State for Transport when Boris Johnson became Prime Minister in summer 2019. He did not respond to a request for comment last month about how he voted in last month's confidence vote, and is not known to have made any public statements on the subject this week.

Jeremy Hunt (South West Surrey)

Former health secretary Mr Hunt has been a long-standing critic of the Prime Minister and faced him for the party leadership in 2019. In a series of tweets during the day of last month's confidence vote he confirmed that he would be voting against Johnson, saying: "Today’s decision is change or lose. I will be voting for change." He is now considered a possible contender to replace him as leader.

Kwasi Kwarteng MP (Spelthorne)

Mr Kwarteng is still Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, although he is understood to have been among the ministers encouraging Johnson to resign on Wednesday. "What a depressing state of affairs," he later said. "So much needless damage caused. We now need a new leader as soon as practicable."

Jonathan Lord MP (Woking)

In a tweet shortly after 6pm on Wednesday, Mr Lord wrote: "It is clear to me that the Prime Minister has lost the confidence of his parliamentary colleagues & therefore must stand down. He has several notable successes to his name including great leadership on the vaccine & Ukraine, but now it is time for new leadership for our country."

Dominic Raab MP (Esher and Walton)

Mr Raab is the deputy prime minister as well as Secretary of State for Justice, and sat next to Mr Johnson at Prime Minister's Questions on Wednesday afternoon. He did not make any public calls for his boss to resign, nor was he reported to be among the cabinet ministers advising him to do so inside Downing Street on Wednesday evening.

Angela Richardson (Guildford)

Ms Richardson resigned as Parliamentary Private Secretary at the Department for Levelling Up on January 31, in protest at government standards following the Partygate scandal. She then voted against Boris Johnson in the confidence vote held last month, signalling that she wanted him to step down. At the time she told BBC Radio Surrey: ""It's about being honest with people, because you need to have people's trust in order to be able to push forward difficult things, and we are in difficult, choppy waters at the moment."

Dr Ben Spencer (Runnymede and Weybridge)

Dr Spencer published a statement on Wednesday afternoon saying that Mr Johnson's appointment of Chris Pincher MP as deputy chief whip despite previous allegations of sexual misconduct was "inexcusable." He added: "We rightly expect the highest standards in Government, and leadership means taking responsibility for one's actions. The Prime Minister should resign."

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