TORY MPs who vote to keep Boris Johnson in office tonight will "be insulting everyone who made sacrifices during the pandemic," the Scottish Liberal Democrat leader Alex Cole-Hamilton has said.
Read More: Boris Johnson face no confidence vote tonight
Earlier this morning, Sir Graham Brady, the chairman of the 1922 committee of backbench Tories confirmed that at least 54 MPs — amounting to a 15 per cent of the parliamentary party — had now lost confidence in the Prime Minister's leadership.
The vote will take place between 6pm and 8pm tonight with an announcement of the result to follow shortly afterwards.
Mr Cole-Hamilton said:“When so many people are suffering from spiralling bills and the cost of living crisis, we can’t have a Prime Minister just focussed on saving his own skin.
“The rest of the country knew Boris Johnson had to go months ago.
"Douglas Ross and other MPs have lacked the courage or decency to remove him. If they support a law-breaking and lying Prime Minister tonight then they will be insulting everyone who made sacrifices during the pandemic.”
Earlier, Scottish Tory MSP Jeremy Balfour said if he was in Westminster he would be voting for Mr Johnson to go.
He told the BBC's Good Morning Scotland: "I think there should be a contest. I think people are still very angry about what happened in Downing Street during lockdown.
"I think the Prime Minister hasn't answered all the questions. So I think it would be helpful to have a vote of no confidence in the Prime Minister and to have that at the earliest possible moment. And I think if that happens today, I think that will clear things and then we can move on."
Asked if that put him at odds with party leader Douglas Ross, who initially called for Mr Johnson to resign before backing him while the war in Ukraine rages on, Mr Balfour said the situation had changed.
"I think Douglas made a position, which I think is a very fair one, These are not easy decisions to make. And each individual has to come to their own mind on this.
"I think Douglas was right, previously, to withdraw his letter, because things were different in Ukraine at that point. I think things have moved on. And personally, I do think it's now time for the Prime Minister to go."
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