Brexit, Covid and u-turns: why Tory backbenchers are getting restless – podcast | News

When the cabinet minister Brandon Lewis was asked in the House of Commons whether a new bill designed to regulate trade within the UK after Brexit would break international law, he confirmed it would in a ‘limited and specific way’. The comments ignited a firestorm within his party as backbenchers and grandees tore into the government for threatening to damage the UK’s reputation for respecting the rule of law.

As the Guardian’s deputy political editor, Jessica Elgot, tells Anushka Asthana, it is not the only source of disquiet within the party. Some MPs are furious at new restrictions aimed at slowing the spread of Covid-19 that restrict gatherings to six people. Others are exasperated at a summer of repeated U-turns and stories of incompetence.

While Boris Johnson’s 80-seat majority has not yet looked seriously under threat, are there signs that his party is falling out of love with the man who led them to their biggest election victory in a generation?

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