Bournemouth scarcely needs any more Punch and Judy acts on its beaches when it has as its MPs Tobias Elwood and Conor Burns. Elwood, the Tory member for Bournemouth East, wants Boris Johnson to make way for a new leader as a result of the “huge breach of trust” with the public over the lockdown partying. Burns, who represents Bournemouth West, meanwhile believes that his “good friend Boris” has acted in “good faith” throughout the affair.
“Tobias and Conor have a policy of studiously ignoring each other in their constituencies and in the Commons tea rooms,” whispers an informant. Elwood is a decent enough chap, and, quite apart from their differences on Johnson, I don’t blame him for not wanting to be seen with Burns. Two years ago, Burns was suspended from the Commons for seven days after the parliamentary watchdog found he had attempted to use his position to “intimidate” a local firm involved in a sordid dispute with his father.
