At least three Gloucestershire MPs are thought to have voted against Boris Johnson in last night's confidence vote.

Sir Geoffrey Clifton-Brown, MP for The Cotswolds, and Tewkesbury MP Laurence Robertson have both said publicly that they voted against Mr Johnson.

A third, Forest of Dean MP Mark Harper will almost certainly have voted against Mr Johnson, having previously told the Prime Minister to quit, saying he was "no longer worthy of the great office he holds" and he had fostered a "toxic culture" in 10 Downing Street which led to "systematic law breaking".

Gloucestershire's other three Conservative MPs - Richard Graham (Gloucester), Alex Chalk (Cheltenham) and Siobhan Baillie (Stroud) - have yet to say how they voted.

In total, 211 Conservatives MPs voted in favour of Mr Johnson with 148 giving a no confidence vote. 

Speaking on BBC Radio Gloucestershire this morning, Sir Geoffrey, who has been a Tory MP for 30 years and is a member of the 1922 committee, said it had been 'pretty frenetic' organising the vote at such short notice.

Sir Geoffrey said: "I voted no confidence in the Prime Minister because I feel the country needs a change of direction. It's now up to Boris Johnson to prove that he can unite the country and take us forward, give us a very clear vision for the country so we know exactly what he wants to achieve.

"He's got to up his game and do a better job. I actually think during the Covid pandemic and during the Ukraine war he's done not a bad job but we've moved on from Covid, we've got to deal with the Ukraine war and really serious problems at home with the cost of living.

"He's got to include all of us and make sure that he's talking to all of us, getting our views and then come up with that vision of the country of where he wants to take us. I think I know where he wants to take us but even I can't be exactly sure."

Sir Geoffrey added: "I'm a democrat. He won a huge majority at the General Election. He won the vote yesterday. I will now support him but in turn he has got to give us the leadership that we're asking for.

"He has the wherewithal to achieve some really great things for this country. What I want to see now is that he wakes up to this vote and actually takes some real notice of it."

Asked why he went public on how he voted in a secret ballot, Sir Geoffrey said: "I've had 2,000 emails on this subject. it's untenable for a member of parliament not to say how they've voted. We are there to serve our constituents and be accountable to our constituents. They have a right to know.how we voted. For me personally I think openness and transparency is very important."

Sir Geoffrey said he was "not expecting great results" in the forthcoming by-elections.

But he added: "I've seen by-elections come and go and then the result of the following general election is totally different."

Punchline says: "Business needs certainty and stability whichever way. The worst scenario is death by 1,000 cuts. We need them to move on."