Image copyright
Reuters & UK Parliament
Sir Nicholas Soames, Margot James and Ed Vaizey are back in the Tory fold
Boris Johnson has restored the whip to 10 of the 21 Tory MPs who rebelled against him over Brexit last month.
The rebels were expelled from the parliamentary Conservative Party after backing efforts to pass legislation to block a no-deal Brexit.
Ex-ministers including Alistair Burt and Margot James are among those to be welcomed back.
Former Tory chancellors Philip Hammond and Ken Clarke are among who remain outside the party.
The decision came as the prime minister’s bill to hold an early general election on December 12 cleared its first hurdle in the House of Commons.
Those to have had the whip restored include Sir Nicholas Soames, grandson of Winston Churchill, and Greg Clark, who served as a cabinet minister under Theresa May.
Caroline Nokes, Ed Vaizey, Richard Benyon, Stephen Hammond, Steve Brine and Richard Harrington complete the list of those returning to the party.
Downing Street’s decision to remove the whip from them had meant they would not be able to stand as Conservative candidates at the next election.
Along with ex-chancellors Philip Hammond and Ken Clarke, former justice secretary David Gauke is among those not to have had the whip restored.
Sir Oliver Letwin, Justine Greening, Dominic Grieve, Rory Stewart, Guto Bebb, Anne Milton and Antoinette Sandbach also remain as independents.
By
Source link
