Kate Plummer
Jul 19, 2022
Indy
Tobias Ellwood has been suspended from the Tories after not voting in yesterday's no confidence vote.
The senior MP was abroad for a meeting in Moldova and said he had been "unable to secure return travel due to unprecedented disruption both here and in the UK".
"I am very sorry to lose the whip but will now continue my meetings in Ukraine promoting the prime minister's efforts here and specifically seeking to secure the reopening of Odessa port - so vital grain exports can recommence," Ellwood said in a statement.
It may be bad form to miss a vote but here's the thing - 11 other Tory MPs did not vote on Monday's confidence motion, but only Ellwood has had the party whip removed.
The Tory Whips Office told the BBC that other MPs who could not make the vote were "paired appropriately", meaning they formed an arrangement with MPs from opposing parties to not vote on a particular issue - basically cancelling each other's votes out.
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But people think something fishy is going on, and now Ellwood won't be able to vote in the leadership election - he had been backing Penny Mordaunt.
\u201c"Tobias could have voted like everyone else."\u201d— Adam Bienkov (@Adam Bienkov) 1658223993
\u201cReal anger in @PennyMordaunt camp after her supporter @Tobias_Ellwood stripped of Tory whip for missing last night\u2019s confidence vote in the government after he failed to return in time from trip to Moldova\u201d— Nicholas Watt (@Nicholas Watt) 1658226012
\u201cVengeful to the last\u201d— Adam Bienkov (@Adam Bienkov) 1658220937
So thank goodness Nadine Dorries had time to pipe up with her explanation:
\u201cThis is wholly untrue and frankly utterly ridiculous. Every single MP of every party is under no illusion regarding the price to be paid in not voting during a Gov confidence motion. It\u2019s a very clearly defined and historic red line. Tobias could have voted like everyone else.\u201d— Nadine Dorries (@Nadine Dorries) 1658223637
Meanwhile, people have pointed out that Johnson acted quickly when Ellwood, who has consistently criticised Johnson and was one of the first MPs to call for him to resign back in February, didn't show his support for the government, but took a few days to suspend Chris Pincher from the Tory party, despite the allegations made against him.
\u201cBoris Johnson acted quicker here than with Chris Pincher\u201d— Toby Earle \ud83c\uddfa\ud83c\udde6 (@Toby Earle \ud83c\uddfa\ud83c\udde6) 1658221078
\u201cBoris Johnson quicker to remove the whip from Tobias Ellwood than he was with Chris Pincher.\u201d— Ben Kentish (@Ben Kentish) 1658221520
Not the best look, then.
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