Boris Johnson has claimed that questions about his position as prime minister have been “resolved” and that speculation about his future is driving the British people “crazy” as pressure builds up on his leadership after the double defeat of the Conservative by-elections.
The Prime Minister also warned Conservative MPs who are considering more moves to remove him to focus on the needs of the UK, which are irritated by the Westminster-centered ranks.
His comments came amid allegations of new attempts by back-bank MPs trying to overthrow him after losing the two by-elections in Wakefield and Tiverton and Honiton and the resignation of his party’s co-chairman Oliver Dowden.
Johnson, when asked by reporters if questions about his leadership were resolved, said, “Yes.” He then added: “What makes people crazy is this endless amount of things about the things I should have filled in or whatever about my peers, their vision of me, my character, the leadership, Tory blah blah “.
Reports have stated that some MPs are trying to change the rules of the 1922 Committee so that they can make another vote of confidence. Deputies seeking to oust the prime minister are seeking elections to the top 18 positions on the 1922 Committee, which dictates how to hold votes of confidence in Conservative party leaders, the Telegraph said.
Asked how he would respond if “men in gray suits” asked him to stand by, he said, “I love my comrades and I will always do so. I urge you with respect to the golden rule of politics, rule number 1. The more we talk about Westminster politics, the more irritating it is for voters. “
Johnson is currently protected from another leadership vote for a year, after winning a poll this month, although 41% of Conservative MPs voted in favor of his removal.
Dowden’s resignation has raised concerns that others may follow this weekend. As the scale of the defeats at Wakefield and Tiverton and Honiton sank, both with worse-than-expected changes against the Conservatives, a number of high-level Tories added their voices to those calling for Johnson se’n vagi.
Johnson said the lesson he had learned from the by-elections defeats could not be distracted by the “endless beating” of news claiming that there had been a “tie.”
“I think the lesson I get from the by-elections in Tiverton and Wakefield is very simple: I think people were actually fed up with hearing things I had stuffed or supposedly stuffed or whatever, that’s endless, completely legitimate, but endless beating of news about a particular type of news about a type of thing. And they wanted me to keep up the work, “he said.
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Earlier, Johnson told BBC Radio 4’s Today program that his role was to look at exactly what happened and “think what criticisms really matter”.
When told that Dowden had resigned saying business could not continue as usual, Johnson said, “If you’re saying you want me to experience some kind of psychological transformation, I think our listeners would know this isn’t going to happen. “What you can do, and what the government should do, and what I want to do, is continue to change, reform and improve our systems and our economy.”
The prime minister will not return to the UK until Thursday evening, after attending a G7 summit in Germany and a NATO meeting in Spain.
Johnson declined to comment on reports that he had planned to build a £ 150,000 tree house on Checkers land, but was forced to abandon the idea after police raised security concerns. The Times claimed that the Prime Minister and his wife, Carrie, wanted to build the tree house at the rural shelter in the fall of 2020 for their son, Wilf.
There were discussions that David Brownlow, a Conservative donor, would fund the project and plans were drawn up for the tree house, it was claimed, but the project was abandoned after the Prime Minister’s close protection agents they warned of a safety risk because the tree house would be visible from the road.
The report said the design included bulletproof glass, which significantly increased the cost of the project. It was alleged that the couple decided not to follow the plans after police advice.
When asked on Saturday if a penny of taxpayers ‘or donors’ money was spent on the plan, Johnson said, “I won’t comment on non-existent items or non-existent jobs to do with my family.” He did not deny that plans had been made.