EAST LANCASHIRE’S Conservative MPs remained tight-lipped on the future of their leader Boris Johnson as his premiership came under increasing pressure yesterday.

The Prime Minister, under fire after revelations he attended an illegal party at Downing Street in May 2020 while the UK was in Covid lockdown, told the House of Commons he had no intention of resigning.

Mr Johnson’s assertions this week that he did not know the party was against the rules was not enough for one Conservative rebel, former Pendle councillor and now Bury South MP Christian Wakeford, who announced he was defecting to Labour.

More and more Conservative MPs are said to be preparing to launch a no-confidence vote against Mr Johnson.

Four of the five Conservative MPs for Pennine Lancashire did not respond as the Lancashire Telegraph tried to contact them yesterday to ask if they are standing by Mr Johnson.

Burnley MP Antony Higginbotham and Hyndburn MP Sara Britcliffe both secured unlikely wins in 2019 as Labour’s so-called Red Wall crumbled under the Tory landslide.

Rossendale and Darwen MP Jake Berry did speak last week in defence of Mr Johnson and appeared on last night's BBC Newsnight to defend the PM who he says is the best person to lead the country still.

Ribble Valley MP Nigel Evans said he would not be commenting due to his position in the House as Deputy Speaker.

Meanwhile, Blackburn MP Kate Hollern, for the Labour party has said that people deserve more.

She said: “The Prime Minister has clearly lost the confidence of the country and his party.

“While households across the country are faced with devastating rises in the cost of living, the Prime Minister and his Cabinet are busy defending the indefensible instead of delivering the much-needed support for families in places like Blackburn. The country deserves so much more.”

Mr Wakeford – who was elected in 2019 with just a 402 majority – staged a dramatic defection to Labour minutes before Prime Minister’s Questions began yesterday. Mr Johnson went into the Commons with his premiership on life support, as a group of Tories who won their seats in the 2019 election landslide appeared to have lost faith in their boss.

After Mr Johnson said in the Commons the Tories had won in Bury South once and would again, the press secretary said the PM would lead his party into the next election.

Mr Wakeford accused Mr Johnson of being “incapable of offering the leadership and government this country deserves”. A Labour spokesman said the party had been in talks with Mr Wakeford for “some time”.