Boris on the brink as Tories fear a wipe-out

BORIS Johnson will have to fight for his political life if the Tories suffer disastrous local election results this week.

- Jonathan Walker and David Williamson

His Conservative foes want to see a leadership election with a new Prime Minister in place by the autumn party conference.

It comes as Tories fear they will lose control of a raft of councils in London and councillors across the country.

And poor results would likely lead to letters being sent to the 1922 Committee in an attempt to unseat Mr Johnson as leader, it was warned, with his opponents wanting him to face a confidence vote before Parliament’s recess starts on July 21.

Former Conservative chief whip Mark Harper, who called for the Prime Minister to step down after he received a fixed penalty notice for attending a birthday celebration in No 10, expects the council elections may be a “mixed bag” but said: “Before the summer recess, all my Conservative colleagues should have enough information to make a decision on who they want to lead us into the next election.