North Thanet MP Sir Roger Gale has told a radio station he will resign from the Conservative Party whip and stand as an independent MP if Boris Johnson becomes the next Prime Minister.
The veteran MP shared his view on Times Radio following a tumultuous day in Parliament with the resignation of Liz Truss from the PM role after just 44 full days at the head of the country.
Her resignation came after including a mini budget U Turn, the sacking of short-lived Chancellor of the Exchequer Kwasi Kwarteng, the resignation of Home Secretary Suella Braverman and a tumultuous day in Parliament yesterday with claims of bullying over a fracking vote brought by Labour and the resignation – followed by an unresignation- of Tory chief whip Wendy Morton.
That’s the truth of the matter. pic.twitter.com/8jC3glJLKK
— Sir Roger Gale MP (@SirRogerGale) October 20, 2022
Sir Roger has served as the member of Parliament for North Thanet since 1983 and been a Conservative Party member since the mid 60s.
Nominations for those now vying for the PM role are open until Monday. Candidates need the backing of at least 100 MPs when nominations close to be in the running.
The new Tory leader and PM is expected to be in office by next Friday.
Those rumoured to have thrown their hat in the ring include Rishi Sunak, Penny Mordaunt and former PM Boris Johnson who resigned in September amid a series of controversies leading to mass resignations.
Sir Roger said yesterday on social media prior to the radio interview: “We need to remember that Mr Johnson is still under investigation by the Privileges Committee for potentially misleading the House. Until that investigation is complete and he is found guilty or cleared, there should be no possibility of him returning to Government.”
NOTE: Sir Roger says he will quit the party whip which means he could not be a Conservative MP, instead standing as an Independent. However, he says he would remain a party member.
