Lia Nici MP claims ‘majority’ of Grimsby people want Boris Johnson back as prime minister
Lia Nici has declared her support for Boris Johnson
Last updated 21st Oct 2022
Great Grimsby’s Conservative MP has claimed that the majority of her constituents want Boris Johnson back as prime minister.
Lia Nici has declared her support for any bid by the former prime minister to become Conservative Party leader again. Liz Truss’s resignation yesterday has triggered the party’s MPs to declare who they will support.
She has said that not only has Boris Johnson the mandate to govern, but also that her constituents want him back. Mr Johnson was last prime minister 45 days ago. Ms Nici told Sky News in parliament on Friday afternoon: “I think Boris Johnson is the leader that the country wants, that they voted for, especially in my constituency.
“They believe that he wants to make positive change in the country and I support that, and I think he’s a leader that can actually move the country forward in the direction we want.” So far, Boris Johnson and Rishi Sunak have gathered the most Conservative MPs endorsements. Any candidate needs 100 party MPs to have nominated them by 2pm on Monday.
Earlier, speaking to the Local Democracy Reporting Service, Ms Nici said: “I’m backing Boris Johnson because he is the person who has the real mandate from the electorate to be prime minister. He also has the backing of the majority of people in the constituency of Great Grimsby, who didn’t ever want to see him go. They want to see him back.
“We’ve got to stop with trial by media in this country and we need a prime minister who has an excellent reputation, not only in the country but around the world. Boris Johnson is head and shoulders above all the other potential candidates.” Ms Nici said in July that Boris Johnson’s resignation as prime minister was a “very sad week for UK politics”.
Scunthorpe’s MP Holly Mumby-Croft is also a supporter of the ‘Bring Back Boris’ campaign. She said in reaction to Liz Truss’s resignation on Thursday: “I know that residents will be worried and frustrated by what is going on in Parliament right now. I share that frustration and upset.
“As a nation, we are facing a very challenging set of problems. It is my job to fight for the best interests of our area and I want to reassure everyone in the Scunthorpe constituency that I will be working hard over the coming days to ensure we select a party leader and Prime Minster who will back us here in North Lincs.”
Northern Lincolnshire’s other MPs, Martin Vickers and Andrew Percy, have yet to indicate who they will endorse. Mr Vickers will not declare in favour of any candidate until nominations close on Monday.
Liz Truss will be the UK’s shortest-ever serving prime minister. The result of the leadership contest is expected no later than Friday and the new leader will take over as prime minister immediately.