Rishi Sunak is facing a fourth and highly problematic by-election after another Conservative MP quit, this time over allegations of personal misconduct.
David Warburton, MP for Somerton and Frome, announced he was resigning in the face of allegations of harassment and drug use.
To compound the prime minister’s problems, a video has emerged of Tory staffers holding a party during Covid-19 restrictions, appearing to flagrantly breach the rules at a Christmas bash in 2020. It is the first video published of such an event.
Sunak is already facing problems on multiple fronts, most seriously a growing mortgage crisis as borrowing rates continue to rise, threatening more economic distress ahead of next year’s general election.
Meanwhile MPs will vote on Monday to approve a report condemning former prime minister Boris Johnson for lying to parliament and other contempts.
Johnson and two of his allies — Nigel Adams and Nadine Dorries — have already announced they are stepping down as MPs, creating three unwanted by-elections for the prime minister, although Dorries has yet to formally quit.
Warburton’s departure after a scandal that has already seen him seen him suspended from parliament will create a prime opportunity for the Liberal Democrats to secure a big by-election win.
Warburton won the Somerset seat in 2019 with a big majority of 19,213 but the seat has been previously held by the Lib Dems and it will be firmly in their sights.
The Tory MP told the Mail on Sunday he was quitting because he was denied a fair hearing by a parliamentary harassment watchdog looking into investigations he harassed two women.
Warburton, who admitted taking cocaine, said: “I was set up but I have been naive and incredibly stupid.”
Sunak has attempted to present himself as a break from the recent Tory past but is constantly being dragged back by previous episodes of wrongdoing from within the party.
The Commons will vote on Monday to approve the report by the privileges committee, which lacerated Johnson for repeatedly lying to MPs about the partygate affair.
The report, which proposes blocking Johnson from holding an ex-MP’s parliamentary pass, may be adopted without a formal vote. It also proposed a 90-day suspension from the House of Commons but Johnson quit before he was pushed.
Johnson has asked his rump of supporters at Westminster not to vote against the report — a move which would have revealed exactly how many Tory MPs were still prepared to fight to defend his tarnished reputation.
The partygate affair continues to reverberate with the Mirror publishing a video of a party at Conservative headquarters in 2020 involving staff working for former Tory mayoral candidate Shaun Bailey, including dancing and drinking.
Police had previously investigated the event but did not have enough evidence to bring a prosecution. Two of those at the party received awards in Johnson’s resignation honours list.