While Boris Johnson was in Rwanda, bathing early in the morning in the conference hotel’s luxurious pool, his conservative critics were already planning again to evict him.
Rear bank conspirators had previously been discouraged by the prospect of ousting Johnson after he narrowly won a vote of confidence from his deputies and the cabinet gathered around him.
But they have been given new hope of ousting him in the coming weeks due to renewed anger and disbelief among Conservative MPs over the disastrous results of the by-elections, as well as the scandal over attempts to get a working in government for his then-girlfriend and now wife, Carrie. Johnson. “It will be a random walk, but we will get there soon,” a former cabinet minister cheerfully said.
Johnson’s 10 aides insist he still has room to change things by being “humble” and accepting that more needs to be changed without “panicking” over the medium-term results. However, on Friday there was evidence that even some of Johnson’s former sponsors believe his time could end soon. “It wouldn’t hurt to look in the mirror. You have to ask yourself: I have a stomach for that, and I will be able to do it. Is it me? ”Said a senior Conservative MP who has supported the prime minister so far.
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Johnson’s conservative critics had been looking at autumn as the next time he could be in danger, the point at which the privileges committee reports whether he lied in parliament and therefore broke the ministerial code. However, the rebels now believe there may now be two more routes in the short term. The first, which many expect, is a cabinet or a senior ministerial resignation, after Oliver Dowden resigned from the Conservative presidency with a hint that others should realize that the party could not “continue business as always”.
Steve Baker, the Wycombe MP in Buckinghamshire and a leading Eurosceptic, told the Guardian: “Like so many background MPs, I am looking for cabinet leadership, especially those who aspire to be seen to provide it.”
Many MPs have their eye on Penny Mordaunt, a senior minister and potential candidate for leadership, as a possibility for the former because she has been more critical than many of the Partygate scandal. Others believe Michael Gove could be an aspiring walker, having shown no suspicion of returning to Johnson earlier when he retired from his leadership campaign in 2016. Certainly some of Gove’s No. 10s are suspicious of his motives. and allies, with a Downing senior. The street helper believes he can’t be trusted and is “in maneuvers”. Nadhim Zahawi, the education secretary, also tweeted a warning that the government should focus more on delivery, not to mention support for the prime minister. “Voters have spoken and we need to listen,” Zahawi said.
A resignation by Chancellor Rishi Sunak, Foreign Secretary Liz Truss, or Deputy Prime Minister Dominic Raab would very likely prove Johnson’s end, a Conservative MP said. But Sunak expressed support for Johnson on Friday, while Raab did media rounds to support him earlier in the week and Truss was by his side in Kigali. Other cabinet members are also optimistic about Johnson’s chances of rebirth, with a cabinet minister saying any major national event, such as a pandemic or the death of the queen, could instantly change the political landscape ahead of the election. .
“The overview is that Dowden jumped before being pushed, but it does crystallize that no other cabinet minister resigned by the vote of confidence,” said another Conservative MP and former cabinet minister. “Anyone with [guts] they would walk in and instantly become the favorite to take over. I am surprised and disappointed that no one has done so far. “
The other possible route is technical: MPs from behind try to take control of the 1922 Committee, which sets the rules for how soon another vote of confidence can be held. The entire 18-member executive committee was re-elected in mid-July, its chairman, Sir Graham Brady, said, with both official and executive positions at stake. Conservative whips are already organizing to try to get pro-Johnson MPs to join this committee.
Andrew Bridgen, one of the prime minister’s most persistent critics, said he would run in the election with a specific platform to change the rules, and said the poll could be considered a “horse-chasing” effort to change the former. minister.
“In 1922 it was a party vote. If the seats are filled with people who are in favor of the rule change, a sensible person at number 10 might think the game is over, ”he told the Guardian.
According to those who have Johnson in Rwanda, there is no indication that he is thinking along that line. At a press conference in Kigali, the prime minister refused to accept that his behavior had anything to do with the partial election losses in Wakefield, Tiverton and Honiton.
“I really don’t think the way forward in British politics is to focus on personality issues, be they mine or others … No doubt people will keep hitting me, saying this or that and attacking me. “That’s very right. That’s the job of politicians,” he said.
“In the end, the voters, the journalists, have no one else to present their complaints to. I have to take it on, but I also have to continue with the delivery for the people of this country. “
With a defiant approach, he and his aides decided not to change the planned schedule of meetings with Prince Charles and attending the opening ceremony of the Commonwealth Heads of Government (Chogm) meeting.
“It would have seemed distressing and we have important and important decisions in Chogm, the G7 and NATO, especially when addressing the issue of Ukraine. We need to address the biggest issues,” a privileged person said.
However, there is also the risk that the prime minister will look away from how the country and its party are feeling, with him expected to be out one more week at the G7 and NATO summits.
Geoffrey Clifton-Brown, the 1922 Committee’s treasurer, suggested to broadcasters that Johnson take “the opportunity to go home and argue” and warned, “There will be a lot of private conversation next week.”