All eyes on North West Conservative MPs ahead of the Prime Minister Boris Johnson confidence vote

• Report by ITV News Granada Reports Political Correspondent Lise McNally

Pendle MP Andrew Stephenson was one of the first Conservative MPs to declare full support for Boris Johnson ahead of tonight's confidence vote.

Senior Tory and Alltrincham and Sale MP Sir Graham Brady announced this morning (6 June) that the Prime Minister would face a ballot tonight to decide his future.

It comes after a steady stream of Tory MPs called publicly for the PM to stand down in the wake of Sue Gray’s report into breaches of the Covid regulations in No 10 and Whitehall.

Number 10 said Mr Johnson "welcomes" a vote of no confidence as it presents a chance to "draw a line and move on".

In the North West, Transport Minister Andrew Stephenson tweeted: "The Prime Minister @BorisJohnson, who won a massive mandate from the British people less than three years ago, has my full support in today's vote.

"He delivered Brexit, delivered on vaccines and has delivered unprecedented #LevellingUp funding for Pendle."

He was soon joined by Defence Secretary and Wyre and Preston North Tory MP Ben Wallace tweeted: "In 2019 Boris won with a majority of 80.

"He has delivered victories in seats we have never held before. On Covid, on Ukraine he has helped deliver a world leading response. He has my full confidence."

Approached by the Lancashire Telegraph Ribble Valley Conservative MP and House of Commons deputy speaker Nigel Evans declined to say how he is planning to vote tonight.

He added: "As a deputy speaker I shall not be indicating one way or other how I am going vote.

"I am taking sounding from the members of the party in my constituency."

The newspaper has also approached Hyndburn Tory MP Sara Britcliffe and Parliamentary aide to education secretary Nadhim Zahawi, Burnley's Conservative backbencher Antony Higginbotham and Rossendale and Darwen MP Jake Berry - a former Northern Powerhouse Minister - for comment.

All have so far remained silent about the contest on social media.

Blackpool South MP Scott Benton also tweeted his support for Mr Johnson saying: "Boris is a proven winner.

"He's delivered Brexit, got us through Covid and is delivering support to tackle the cost of living.

"Make no mistake, many in the red wall voted specifically for Boris in 2019 - no other Tory leader could reach the parts of the country he has.

"The Prime Minister has my full support. Mistakes in No 10 have been made but there is no doubt that Boris is the best person to face the challenges that lie ahead.

"I urge colleagues to come together and get behind him."

To force a leadership challenge 180 Tory MPs will have to vote against Mr Johnson but if more than 150 do so he may be forced to resign anyway.

ITV News' Daniel Hewitt reported that Southport's Damien Moore, Merseyside’s only Tory MP, has heavily hinted he will vote against Boris Johnson. He quoted Mr Moore saying: “I welcome that a vote of confidence has now been called.

"I have never supported anyone blatantly breaking the covid rules…which the Sue Gray report and the Met…concluded the PM broke."

William Wragg, the MP for Hazel Grove and Vice-Chairman of the 1922 Committee, has suggested Mr Johnson should take the decision to resign himself.

He told the BBC last January that it was "a tragedy things have come to pass in this way".

Meanwhile the North West's Labour MPs were quick to draw the split in the Tories to the attention of voters.

Bill Esterson, the Labour MP for Sefton Central described them as 'rats deserting a sinking ship'.

Liverpool Wavertree's Labour MP Paula Barker shared a tweet from Liverpool-born Tory Nadine Dorries and said: "Whilst the Tories fight over who holds the power, many ordinary people worry about how they will get through the month. "We were promised "strong and stable". What we got was lies and ineptitude which has cost lives."

The vote in the PM will be held today between 6pm and 8pm and the votes will be counted immediately afterwards.

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