“The prime minister will make a decision on any general election,” he told LBC, adding that opinion polls were based “very much” on the public “seeing a divided party”.
The Prime Minister has the power to convene a quick poll whenever he wishes, now that Parliament’s Fixed-Term Act has been repealed.
That legislation, introduced in 2011, had restricted elections to every five years, unless a two-thirds majority of Commons voted to go to the public earlier.
Speaking to the liaison committee, the prime minister said the “earliest date” he predicted for the next election was 2024.
But before the wave of resignations that has shaken his leadership, the Conservative campaign headquarters was “playing at war” an early vote if Sir Keir Starmer is fined and forced to resign for a beergate.
“If Labor ends up in a leadership election, this could change electoral dynamics and party planning at the highest level,” a source told The Times.
But the resignations of Rishi Sunak and Sajid Javid and the weakening of Johnson’s position in the last 24 hours may have changed that calculation.
The Labor leader has already called for Mr Johnson’s resignation and said he wants the country to go to the polls immediately to secure a “new start for Britain”.
“This government is collapsing, the Conservative Party is corrupt and changing a man at the head of the Conservative Party will not solve the problems,” he told broadcasters on Wednesday.
Meanwhile, Steve Reed, his shadow justice secretary, insisted Labor is “ready to fight” immediately against a general election, should Johnson call them.