Lawmaker defects to opposition in UK

"My decision is about much more than your leadership and the disgraceful way you have conducted yourself in recent weeks," Wakeford said, a reference to a growing scandal over reports of parties being held at Downing Street during COVID-19 lockdowns in 2020.

"I can no longer support a government that has shown itself consistently out of touch with the hard working people of Bury South and the country as a whole," Wakeford added. 

Wakeford said the country needs a government that "upholds the highest standards of integrity and probity" but told Johnson "both you and the Conservative Party as a whole have shown themselves incapable of offering the leadership and government this country deserves".