A brave and principled Tobias Ellwood stood up in the Commons this afternoon to declare the PM must now go, and that his rule breaking means the Tories won’t win the next election. Amid heckles from his own front bench, Ellwood told the Commons:

“A question I humbly put to my colleagues is are you willing, day in and day out, to defend this behaviour publicly? Can we continue to govern without distraction given the erosion of the trust with the British people? And can we win the general election on this current trajectory?”

Of course, Ellwood is speaking from the heart here and not manoeuvring himself for a crack at the top job. This is obvious as no-one who, for example, broke Covid rules themselves at a widely-attended dinner and drinks do would risk getting on such high horse about the Prime Minister’s cake-based conduct. It would also be especially awkward if said event happened in December 2020, two days before one of the Downing Street parties. It would be additionally hypocritical if the MP’s rule breaking had been called an “egregious” breach of Covid rules by the Home Secretary. Anyway, Guido thought Tobias’s intervention was worth highlighting…

From the archives: Patel Slams Ellwood’s Christmas Party as “Clear Breach” of Rules, December 2020