Sir Charles Walker blasts “inexcusable” fracking vote behavior

Sir Charles Walker, a Tory MP, was “livid” tonight as he denounced the “inexcusable” conduct surrounding the “chaotic” fracking vote in the House of Commons and threatened to lose 200 seats to the opposition at the next general election “unless we get our act together.”

After being initially informed that they would lose the whip if they opposed Liz Truss’ fracking bill, in what was essentially rebranded as a confidence vote in the prime minister as she clings to power, the backbencher said in an extraordinary outburst on BBC News that he had not seen “anything like it.”

Chaos, however, broke out just before the vote at 7 o’clock when climate minister Graham Stuart declared in the Commons chamber that it was not being treated as a vote of confidence in the Government, contrary to what MPs had been told earlier.

This announcement apparently came as a surprise to Tory whips.

Later, there were rumors that Conservative MPs were being “dragged in” to support the government, and Labour MP Chris Bryant demanded a probe into what he called “bullying” methods that were “totally out of order.”

In the midst of the bloodshed, Truss’ Chief and Deputy Chief whips suddenly walked out of the Commons and announced their resignation, with one allegedly saying, “I don’t give a f**k anymore.” Later, Downing Street announced that they would continue in their positions.

Ms. Truss ultimately prevailed in the vote by a margin of 326 to 230, but it came after another eventful day in which Home Secretary Suella Braverman was abruptly forced to resign for allegedly using her personal email for official purposes, and Grant Shapps, a former transport secretary, was appointed in her place without much notice.

Sir Charles, a Broxbourne MP since 2005, announced after the vote on Wednesday night that he would be resigning from office at the next general election. He continued, “Unless we get our act together and behave like grown-ups, I’m afraid many hundreds of my colleagues, perhaps 200, will be leaving at the behest of their electorate.”

He said that the chaotic events “reflect tremendously ill, clearly, on the Government of the day” and were a “pitiful reflection on the Conservative Parliamentary Party at every level.”

He said, “I really shouldn’t say this but I hope that all those people who placed Liz Truss in Number 10, I hope it was worth it,” in a sarcastic letter to Truss’ supporters.

“I really hope the ministerial red box was worth it.” The harm they have done to our party is immense, therefore I hope it was worthwhile to sit at the Cabinet table.

“I’ve had enough of talentless individuals checking the appropriate boxes, not because it’s in the best interests of the country, but because it’s in their own self-interest to become ministers,” he said.

Prior to the vote, chaos was reported outside the division lobbies, with MPs opposed to removing the fracking ban unsure of what would happen to them if they backed with the opposition.

Mr. Bryant said that Alex Stafford, the Rother Valley Tory MP, was pushed into the “no” lobby during the commotion.

According to him, there were some Conservative lawmakers who were unsure whether they could support Labour or vote against it.

They were being yelled at by a gathering that included many Cabinet members. The entrance to the voting lobby was forcefully wrenched open by at least one person. That is totally out of sequence.

Therese Coffey was in the group, I am aware of that. I am aware that there were other people in the gathering in addition to Jacob Rees-Mogg. With one person leading the way, the group advanced.

“Alex Stafford,” I said. He was violently handled into the lobby, in my opinion.

When it became evident that she would have to suspend scores of her own MPs, Ms. Truss seemed to alter her mind about calling the vote a “matter of confidence,” which meant it might have brought down the government.

According to reports, it led to a disagreement between head whip Wendy Morton and her deputy Craig Whittaker, which ended with them storming out and informing their coworkers that they had resigned. I am f***ing mad and I don’t care a f*** any more, Mr. Whittaker allegedly said.

Downing Street insiders said they had not left, nevertheless, in a surprising turn of events. By nine o’clock in the evening, Ms. Coffey was announcing to reporters outside the Carlton Club that Ms. Morton had won a “great victory” by defeating the Labour motion and that the entire Cabinet would be attending a dinner to commemorate the 100th anniversary of the deal that brought down Lloyd George’s administration.

At 9.49 p.m., No. 10 certified that the two were absolutely staying in their positions.

The hardly credible events in the division lobbies, which Labour MP Chris Bryant recorded on video in violation of Commons regulations, were the most recent illustration of Ms. Truss’s administration’s unraveling.

Suella Braverman, the home secretary, was compelled to quit hours earlier, reportedly for breaking procedure by sending an email from her personal account to a contact that had information about an impending statement on immigration policy.

She also claimed that the government was not keeping its pledges about immigration, which dealt another fatal blow to the PM’s hopes of holding onto office. She said that individuals should resign when they made “mistakes,” which Ms. Truss has acknowledged.

Ms. Truss reacted with a considerably shorter letter that said that it is “essential the Ministerial Code be respected” and swiftly replaced Grant Shapps with Rishi Sunak supporter Grant Shapps.

Despite disagreements about who should be in charge, MPs have begun to refer to the Cabinet as a “caretaker” administration, and many do not think Ms. Truss will even make it to the Halloween Budget.

Former Brexit minister Lord Frost, one of her most ardent supporters, said today that she must resign.

Backbenchers were informed by Tory whips that a resolution put up by Labour to stop further drilling was really a “confidence motion” that could theoretically remove Ms. Truss from office. If rebels did not support the government in a vote, they threatened to expel them from the party.

But a staunch number of lawmakers, notably environmentalists and those who represent districts where new drilling is threatened, pledged to disregard them, particularly when minister Graham Stuart abruptly hinted the motion was not a vote of confidence after all.

There were no Conservative votes against the administration, but 40 abstained, including former chancellor Kwasi Kwarteng.

‘Late in the day, a junior official at 10 Downing Street conveyed a communication through to the front bench that it was not a vote of confidence, and nobody else was aware of it,’ Business Secretary Jacob Rees-Mogg claimed.

“The whips weren’t aware of it, neither was I, and the majority of the members believed it to be a vote of confidence.” It was just one of those regrettable misunderstandings that sometimes occur.

After numerous MPs expressed amazement at what they observed, Commons Speaker Sir Lindsay Hoyle is set to look into the allegations of abuse outside the voting lobbies.

Screaming, yelling, and the dragging in of Conservative MPs to vote with the Government were all reported by Labour MPs.

On Twitter, shadow minister Anna McMorrin reported seeing a Conservative lawmaker “in tears” in the lobby.

“I was waiting for the votes when then Craig Whittaker came out crying and saying he’s sick of everything,” one Tory MP who witnessed the “carnage” in the lobbies said. Wendy then emerged stony-faced. The other whips claim to have given up. Absolute devastation occurred.

According to one dejected Cabinet insider, “I’m going to be PM by Christmas” at this rate.