Tory MP Michael Fabricant tells Boris Johnson to 'get a grip' after confidence vote

The PM held off opposition to his leadership in Monday's confidence ballot despite more than two-fifths of Tory MPs voting to get rid of him.

Lichfield MP Michael Fabricant said he had spoken to Mr Johnson personally after the vote and urged him to drive forward with the Government's agenda on issues such as the cost of living and immigration.

He told the Express & Star: "I told the Prime Minister he needs to get a grip on delivering – and he knows that. It's no good throwing money at things in an undirected sort of way.

"There is no doubt in my mind that he will have been looking at all he can do to start to deliver all the things that will make a difference to people's pockets.

"Unless that is done, we are not going to see the return of a Conservative government in two years' time."

Mr Fabricant, a vocal supporter of the PM, also hit out at Tory colleagues for trying to oust Mr Johnson.

He said partygate was "a big excuse" for many "resentful" MPs who had an axe to grind with the PM because they had either been "sacked or overlooked".

"Partygate has played quite an important role with the general public," he said. "But as far as MPs are concerned, I believe they are just using that as a cover.

"You can see that with [Bournemouth East MP] Tobias Ellwood saying we should rejoin the single market and be a part of the European Court of Justice again.

"There's also a strange mixture of people who are anti-Brexit and those who don't feel the PM has gone far enough with Brexit.

"Others don't like the Rwanda plan for immigration, and [Hereford MP] Jesse Norman was saying he doesn't approve of the sale of Channel 4. There's all sorts of reasons.

"As far as I'm concerned this all had much more to do with 'the right vs the left' than partygate."

Mr Fabricant also insisted Mr Johnson "has got what it takes" to steady the ship and lead the party at the next general election.

"He started off very disorganised when he was Mayor of London and then pulled off two election victories," he said.

"He's an optimistic person with this huge ability to win elections. We'd be mad to try and get rid of him."

Meanwhile South Staffordshire MP Gavin Williamson, who was sacked as Education Secretary by Mr Johnson, said the PM now needed to "concentrate on the issues that really matter".

Mr Williamson, who confirmed he had voted for the PM, told the Express & Star: "The focus has to be on delivering and governing well.

"The vote has been and gone, now it is important for the Government to concentrate on the issues that really matter to British people, such as dealing with the cost of living and making sure we continue to grow the economy."

Dudley North MP Marco Longhi said the result meant the PM now had a "renewed mandate to deliver".

"This is what voters also want," he added.

"So I look forward to a global Britain generating more jobs, more secure jobs that are based on skills for the future, and growth from lower taxes and affordable energy policies."

Stourbridge MP Suzanne Webb said it was time for the Government to "get on and deal with the pressing issues we face in this country".

She said: "Boris Johnson has a huge mandate to deliver his manifesto.

"I intend to help him do that because I believe that is in the best interests of the people of Stourbridge who want to see jobs and investment and levelling up in their communities."