Boris and Carrie put on a united front amid wallpapergate fallout: PM and his fiancee walk arm in arm after casting votes in London on Super Thursday
- Prime Minister arrived at polling station arm-in-arm with fiancée Carrie Symonds
- PM cast his ballot in London as the crucial set of elections got underway today
- Amid investigations into how costly redecoration of their flat was financed
The Prime Minister and his fiancée put on a united front as they cast their ballots at a polling station today amid the dramatic fallout from their lavish flat refurbishment.
Boris Johnson and Carrie Symonds walked arm in arm to the Methodist Central Hall in London as the crucial set of elections got underway n Super Thursday.
The couple smiled and waved for the cameras, as they come under intensifying scrutiny over the £58,000 refit of their Downing Street residence.
Boris Johnson and his fiancee Carrie Symonds arrive to cast their vote at Methodist Central Hall, central London
The Prime Minister and his fiancée put on a united front as they cast their ballots at a polling station today
Boris Johnson voted early in the dramatic Super Thursday battle today amid signs he is on course to take a wrecking ball to the Red Wall again
The pair face growing questions surrounding the estimated £200,000 refurbishment of Downing Street, and the decision to fund it via contributions from Tory donors.
Last night it emerged Britain’s top civil servant Simon Case only discovered Boris Johnson wanted a charity to pay for his Downing Street flat makeover earlier this year.
Former royal aide Mr Case decided to look into the matter further and discovered that Tory donor Lord Brownlow of Shurlock Row had been lined up to chair the planned Downing Street charity and had asked two other peers to join the board.
Mr Case had a meeting with the potential trustees, former Thatcher adviser Lord Powell and senior Labour peer Baroness Jay, to find out what was happening.
Mr Case is now conducting one of several investigations into how the costly redecoration of the Number 11 residence was funded.
A Cabinet Office spokesman confirmed: ‘The Cabinet Secretary only became aware of the Trust in late February.’
The inquiry follows a string of revelations in the Mail suggesting a £58,000 cost overrun may have been paid originally by the Conservative Party before being covered by Tory donor Lord Brownlow.
Mr Johnson told Ministers that he had settled the bill with his own money, but has ducked questions about who originally paid out when the work at 11, Downing Street was completed last year.
Failure to declare donations is an offence under electoral law, punishable by fines of up to £20,000.
Boris held Carries hand as they put on a show, casting aside the dramatic fallout from their lavish flat refurbishment
The couple clutched their masks as they walked to cast their ballots in the Capital this morning
The PM cast his ballot along with fiancee Carrie Symonds in London as the crucial set of elections got underway
The Tories have been boosted by the latest poll showing they have a huge 10-percentage point lead – driven by the success of the vaccine rollout.
Keir Starmer is braced for a disastrous ‘hat-trick’ of defeats in the Hartlepool by-election, as well as the two key mayoral races in the West Midlands and Tees Valley.
Allies believe a hard-Left challenge is inevitable if the results in his first major electoral test are as bad as feared – but they are also confident he can survive.
Votes will be cast in every part of Great Britain, with the Scottish and Welsh Parliaments, London Assembly, and Hartlepool by-election up for grabs.
More than 5,000 council seats in England will also be contested, along with 13 mayoralties and 39 police and crime commissioner positions.
YouGov’s final poll before the big day found the Tories were on 43 per cent nationally, ahead of Labour on 33 per cent.
The research, conducted over the past two days, found 40 per cent had a favourable view of Mr Johnson, compared to just 31 per cent for Sir Keir Starmer.