Glasgow's top Tory says Boris Johnson must go now as party braced for losses

"I said in January [Boris Johnson] should stand down and I have stood by that," Mr Kerr told the Herald on the campaign trail in the East End of Glasgow two days ahead of the council elections on Thursday.

"He has to be held accountable for what he has done. Have someone else as interim leader now and then there should be a leadership contest over the summer."

Pressed on when exactly Mr Johnson should quit Number Ten, Mr Kerr said: "It would have to be soon...it would have to be over the next few weeks."

Councillor and Conservative party candidate Thomas Kerr pictured campaigning in Mount Vernon, Glasgow ahead of polling day on May 5. Photo: Gordon Terris, The Herald

His position is at odds with Scottish Conservative leader Douglas Ross who called for Mr Johnson to resign over the Partygate scandal in January but changed his mind in March following Russia's invasion of Ukraine.

However, Mr Ross's predecessor Ruth Davidson - who made a return to the campaign stump on Monday - continues to believe Mr Johnson is not fit to be Prime Minister and should stand down.

"I do understand Douglas's argument that when you have a leader who is leading the country - leading the world in the war in Ukraine - he shouldn't be standing down now - but my personal opinion is that his actions are indefensible and he has to be held accountable for that," Mr Kerr said.

READ MORE: Elections 2022: The crucial battle for Glasgow

He suggested that Defence Secretary Ben Wallace, a former MSP who recently topped a survey of the most popular Conservative politician among Tory members, could act as interim leader while the party's internal election was underway.

The Conservatives came second in the last local government elections in 2017 with the SNP taking 32 per cent of the first preference votes, the Tories 25 per cent and Labour 20 per cent.

The SNP took 431 council seats in total across Scotland (down seven), while the Tories took 276 (up 164) and Labour 262 (down 133).

In Glasgow Mr Kerr was among seven additional councillors achieved by the Conservatives who in the previous council term had just one councillor in the city.

The 25-year-old, who was finishing a college course at the time, said he did not expect to get elected in 2017 and thought 2022 would be the breakthrough year.

However, two recent polls have suggested the Tories could lose their second place standing to Labour in local government this Thursday.

The latest survey by Panelbase for the Sunday Times at the weekend put Mr Ross’s party on 21 per cent of decided voters, compared to 24 per cent for Labour and 42 per cent for the SNP.

Strathclyde University’s Professor Sir John Curtice said the findings suggested the Conservatives faced a “serious challenge” from Labour to their position as Scotland’s second-largest party.

Campaigning in his Shettleston ward today with fellow candidates Faten Hameed and John Daly, Mr Kerr was asked whether the Tories under Mr Johnson were now seen as toxic.

"It used to be the case that the word Tory was a bad word in Scotland, it was a toxic brand. I don't think that is the case anymore," he said insisting that voters could separate the party from Mr Johnson.

"We will see on Friday if I am out of my job. I suspect there will be an argument and a discussion, but right now where I've been campaigning and where I represent there's not a toxic brand at all, there are people who understand our principles.

"They might not like Boris Johnson and they might be angry at what's going on in Westminster but they realise it's not just about one individual but about the party and what we stand for."

He added: "Ben Wallace has done a fantastic job as defence secretary. And when I say Boris has to go, I think he [Ben Wallace] would be perfect as an interim leader.

"The party will need to have a full soul search of what it has to do. They need somebody who is energetic and enthusiastic who can take us into the next election."

However, despite the polling Mr Kerr insisted he believes the Conservatives will remain the second largest party in local government after polling day.

"I still think in Scotland we will not see the catastrophe that people are predicting. I think we will still be the second biggest party in Scotland," he said.

"I think there is a lot of hype around Labour and Anas Sarwar - simply as they have a leader who has not stuck his foot in it during an election campaign. But when we are out we are not picking up a Labour vote at all....Last year the polls were suggesting that Labour might be the biggest opposition party in Holyrood and we managed to keep our place and gain 100,000 extra votes."

He was asked what the mood was like among activists and whether they were deflated.

There were just two candidates accompanying him on the doors and a further three activists on a street nearby.

He said: "No, our activists are upbeat. There are not many of us campaigning but that is the case with all parties. People are struggling to engage in politics and people are a bit scunnered with politics in general.

"But our activists are positive, we have a good plan in Glasgow and a good manifesto and a good team.We had two manifestos, one on cleaning the city up and another on business and growth."

Pressed if he was confident of being re-elected as a councillor, he said: "I hope so, I am never confident. I am a Tory in the east end of Glasgow. Confidence is never in my vocabulary. But I am hopeful. I think I have done the job well for five years and we have shown people what we can do. And I am hopeful I should be able to hold on."

Mr Johnson was fined last month by the police for breaking Covid rules during lockdown by attending a birthday event in Downing Street in June 2020.

He continues to be investigated over other alleged breaches.

Senior civil servant Sue Gray is to publish her report into the scandal and the culture he oversaw at No 10 after the police probe.

Senior officials expect her findings to be so damning that Mr Johnson will be left with no choice but to resign.

The Prime Minister has insisted he is an electoral “asset” despite growing calls from Conservative MPs for him to quit over the parties.