Ashby MP Andrew Bridgen says his North West Leicestershire constituents are backing him in his bid to oust Boris Johnson as Prime Minister.

Speaking to Ashby Nub News, Mr Bridgen says the correspondence he receives locally supports his view 'by about four to one'.

He also says he receives emails from people backing the Prime Minister as he prepares to stand for election to the 1922 Committee and push for another confidence vote in Boris Johnson.

Mr Bridgen wants a rule-change which would allow another vote, in less time than the regulation 12 months following the most recent one.

He said: "I get e-mails from Johnson supporters around the country, but I would say from constituents, it's four to one in my favour."

Mr Bridgen underlined his stance in terms of his opposition to the Prime Minister - after making his views public for some months now.

He added: "The best route out for getting rid of Boris Johnson is to threaten a change to the rules of the 1922 committee.

"There are a number of vacancies on the committee now, created by Boris Johnson recruiting members of the committee into the government.

"And if you've got candidates standing on a rule change ticket, you'd expect that if you've got enough votes to get on then you'd expect another confidence vote to remove him."

Mr Bridgen says the two by-election defeats in Tiverton and Wakefield have done nothing to strengthen Boris Johnson's position.

He added: "We were only 30 votes short last time and a lot of colleagues who voted for confidence in the Prime Minister, they may now have buyers' remorse.

"What is clear to me is that there is a growing cohort of the electorate who don't like Boris Johnson, there is an anti-Boris Johnson vote out there.

"They will vote for whoever they see is the better chance of beating him, for the public it's turning into an anti-Conservative vote.

"Nobody is bigger than the party. It's in the interests of the country to have a vibrant political system and a vibrant Conservative party.

"I want there to be one when both Boris Johnson and I are no longer in office.

"The best way of guaranteeing that now would be a change of leadership."