Up to eight Tories are currently in talks to defect to Labour, HuffPost UK understands.
It follows the decision of Christian Wakeford, the MP for Bury South, to ditch his party in protest at what he called the “disgraceful conduct” of Boris Johnson over parties in Downing Street during the pandemic.
A Labour source said those in talks with the whips were citing concern at the direction of the government stretching back to the Owen Paterson lobbying scandal, as well as the cost-of-living crisis, as reasons why they were considering jumping ship.
While no moves are expected to be imminent, there has been an undeniable sense of anger at how Johnson and his allies have handled criticism from Tory MPs who have called on the prime minister to resign over the party scandal engulfing his leadership.
One Labour source joked: “The devil works hard, but the Labour whips team work harder.”
The unease felt on the Tory benches mounted this morning as backbench MP and chair of the Public Administration and Constitutional Affairs Committee, William Wragg, said he had been told that allies of the prime minister had threatened to “embarrass” rebels with “stories in the press” and urged his colleagues to talk to the police.
“Members of staff at No.10, special advisers, government ministers and others encouraging the publication of stories in the press seeking to embarrass those who they suspect of lacking confidence in the PM is unacceptable,” he said.
Wragg also accused ministers of breaching the ministerial code by “threatening” to withdraw public funds from the constituencies of the rebels. In the aftermath of Wakeford’s defection, there were reports that he had been threatened by Tory whips with having his seat boundary changed.
Johnson’s press secretary said yesterday that she was “not aware” of that allegation, while in response to Wragg’s claims, Downing Street said on Wednesday: “We are not aware of any evidence to support what are clearly serious allegations. If there is any evidence to support these claims we would look at it very carefully.”
Wakeford, who was elected in 2019, crossed the floor to the opposition benches in a dramatic move just moments before an embattled Johnson addressed MPs.
Outlining his reasons for leaving in a letter to the PM, Wakeford said his decision was about “much more than your leadership and the disgraceful way you have conducted yourself in recent weeks”.
He added: “I care passionately about the people of Bury South and I have concluded that the policies of the Conservative government that you lead are doing nothing to help the people of my constituency and indeed are only making the struggles they face on a daily basis worse.”
While some Tories believe that Wakeford’s protest alone may have “calmed the nerves” of those contemplating joining the rebellion against his leadership, any further defections would likely heap more pressure on Johnson and heighten calls for his resignation.
Johnson’s press secretary said the prime minister was “obviously sorry” to see Wakeford go but accused him of attempting to put Starmer in No.10, “which will be a disaster for the country”.
Wakeford said he was not aware of any other Tory MPs who might be considering whether to defect, but added: “I am sure there’s a lot of soul searching.”
He said defecting from the Tories was “the most difficult decision I have ever had to make”.
“This isn’t a matter of just deciding this morning, you know, I want to be a Labour MP – this has been many months in the build up,” he said.
“And whether it goes back to the issues over free school meals and Dominic Cummings, or over Universal Credit and the cost-of-living crisis… the Owen Paterson affair or now partygate, there has been a lot of… build up to this and a lot of soul searching that’s taken many sleepless nights.
“This is something that has taken many months to come to and it’s not been an easy decision, if anything it’s been the most difficult decision I have ever had to make. But I do think it’s the right decision for me, I think it’s the right decision for Bury South.”
The Conservatives were contacted for comment.