What battles lie ahead for Boris Johnson as he tries to survive partygate?

Boris Johnson has faced a difficult few months and, despite Sue Gray's report having now been published, the danger is not over yet.

The Prime Minister is still facing a series of difficult obstacles in a bid to shore up support not just with the public, but also among his own MPs.

At the time of writing 25 MPs have publicly called for the Prime Minister to go immediately, with another ten questioning his position.

With a steady trickle of letters to the chair of the 1922 committee slowly being announced, here are the remaining threats to a premiership that looked rock solid just a year ago.

Prime Minister Boris Johnson faces a series of challenges in the weeks and months ahead.

More Partygate revelations

Far and away the biggest threat to Mr Johnson remains partygate, despite Downing Street’s repeated attempts to say the matter was closed.

Ms Gray’s report had appeared to draw a line under the issue, only for it to later emerge she was asked to drop crucial elements by Downing Street.

This included any reference to the Abba party held in the Downing Street flat, something many thought could be the most damning for the Prime Minister.

The attempts to edit what was reported has enraged MPs and sparked even more of a backlash on the backbenches.

In the immediate aftermath of publication, it felt like the Prime Minister was safe, with plotters dropping efforts to remove him.

This no longer seems to be the case, with more revelations emerging.

Things got even worse for the Prime Minister on Monday after his wife Carrie Johnson was accused of hosting a second lockdown party on the Prime Minister’s 56th birthday in the Downing Street flat.

The Sunday Times has seen messages Mrs Johnson met “several” male friends that evening, with the Prime Minister later heading up to the flat where they were gathered.

Number 10 has refused to deny the allegations and is now facing the prospect of another investigation.

Asked about the report, a No 10 spokesman said senior civil servant Ms Gray had made clear in her terms of reference that she would look at other allegations where there were “credible” claims that rules had been breached.

“I have seen the same reporting that you have, but I think this is covered in the terms of reference in Sue Gray’s report, where she clearly said that any other gatherings that were credible, where she received credible allegations, would be looked into,” the spokesman said.

“Downing Street [staff] were given clear guidance to retain any relevant information and co-operate fully with the investigation.”

In the meantime letters continue to roll in to Sir Graham Brady, described now as less of a “trickle” and more a “steady stream”.

Privileges committee appearance

Mr Johnson may have survived Ms Gray’s report, but it is his appearance before the Privileges committee that has MPs most worried.

When MPs return from half-term recess on June 6, the committee will begin an inquiry into whether Mr Johnson knowingly misled Parliament over what he said about Partygate.

This will not be a quick yes or no as to whether the Prime Minister lied, but instead a deep dive into everything that’s happened.

It can demand documents and witnesses, and crucially can make the decision the Prime Minister lied, therefore breaking the ministerial code.

MPs on the committee are not confident, citing the difficulty in proving what someone intended with what they said.

This could last up until October, therefore hanging over the Prime Minister until the Tory conference in Birmingham.

The Privileges Committee will report its conclusions to the House, which will then vote on whether to endorse its findings and any recommended sanction.

A finding against the Prime Minister could lead to him being suspended for ten days or even face a recall, but neither is considered likely.

But if they do find against Mr Johnson, MPs would be very brave to vote against it, risking another scandal like the one involved former Tory MP Owen Paterson, who ultimately quit after the standards watchdog found he had broken lobbying rules.

By-elections

The accepted logic to keep Mr Johnson has always been he is an electoral force who can knit a coalition of support together.

More than one MP has told The Scotsman the Prime Minister being a liar was “priced in” because he was a winner.

The issue for Conservatives is that all the polling suggests the magic is not quite working anymore.

Polling last week under the YouGov MRP model suggested that if an election was held tomorrow, the Conservatives would hold on to just three of 88 battleground seats.

This included Mr Johnson's seat of Uxbridge and South Ruislip, where Labour are believed to have a five-point lead.

While MPs may be able to question polling, they cannot ignore the immediate evidence which continues to present itself.

Mr Johnson’s party have lost a string of by-elections as well as at local level, and are now staring down the barrel of another two defeats.

After Neil Parish resigned in disgrace, Tiverton and Honiton is also inexplicably in play, despite the 24,239 majority.

Lib Dems have been preparing to contest the seat since the allegations first emerged, and confidence is growing of an upset.

Things are considerably more bleak in Wakefield, where Labour expect to take the seat after Imran Ahmad Khan was jailed for sexually assaulting a boy.

A few losses or polls are isolated, but Mr Johnson is now in real danger of defeat becoming a trend.

If Mr Johnson continues to lose seats, face questions over partygate, and struggles before the Liaison Committee, MPs may decide that losing him now is the interests of the party.