The prime minister rejects the idea of ”psychological transformation” on his part
Husain asks if Johnson is taking lessons from “more of the same” instead of admitting he needs to change.
“If you’re saying you want some kind of psychological transformation to happen, your listeners know this isn’t going to happen.
“I want to keep changing and reforming our systems and the economy. If we’re going to discuss politics, we’re going to discuss how the railways work, this is a topic of fascinating fascination for people all over and under the country because of the railway strikes “.
Updated at 08.32 BST
Johnson insists he did not cheat the house, when Mishal points out that he did not resign after doing so, while asking him what else should happen for him to consider resigning.
“What has happened is that I have a renewed mandate from my colleagues and I will continue to fulfill it. I can see and accept that people are having a hard time.
“I conclude that voters are very fed up with hearing about me and the things I’m supposed to have done wrong. What they want to hear is what we’re doing for them. What I’m trying to expose is the ambitions we have for in the country, to cope with the cost of living and for a stronger economy ”.
Mishal said Johnson’s term “for change” is being broken, with Hartlepool for the electoral defeat, as well as others in Shopshire and Amersham. It refers to a potential change in the 1922 Committee rules that could see Johnson face another vote of confidence, after winning one last month.
Johnson says the only suggestion that is made is to return to the EU single market. When Husain mentions Lord Geidt, who resigned over concerns with the Johnson government and leadership, he is referring to a disagreement over steel tariffs.
She asks him if he thinks leadership is a matter of morale and if there are any circumstances in which he would resign.
He says, “Of course I think so [about morality]. If I were asked we had to abandon the Ukrainian cause because it was becoming too difficult and the cost of supporting these people was too great in terms of inflation, economic damage, I would accept that I had lost a very important argument and that would do. to go. But I don’t see that. “
Husain asks why the government is not living up to promises made during the Brexit referendum on cutting or removing VAT from energy bills, which would reduce costs.
Johnson responds: “We are a sensible government, Mishal, and the British public understands that and I don’t think they are amnesiacs that a couple of years ago we spent £ 408 billion to support people during the pandemic, they know we have to be sensitive to the way we approach it.
“Lowering taxes on families is a way to stimulate growth and this is one of the dividing lines of politics. I am very happy to have discussions about taxes. When it comes to energy and the cost of people’s energy bills, taxes are not enough. You have to look at how everything works. Right now, one of the problems is that people are charging for their electricity prices based on the maximum marginal price of gas, and that’s downright ridiculous, we need to get rid of this system and reform the energy markets. as other European countries have done.
“Only through reform can costs be reduced.”
Johnson says the fuel tax has been cut, but does not answer Husain’s question about whether more cuts will be made. Today’s presenter says current cuts have been swallowed up by wider cost-of-living increases.
“We’re reducing fuel duty,” he says. “Maybe there are more things we need to do. You have to look at how the energy market works.”
Husain intervenes as Johnson leaves the point. She tells him that a large portion of gasoline prices go to the Treasury. “Maybe there are more things we can do,” he says. “People know we’re doing a lot with the fiscal fire power we have to support them right now, to put £ 1,200 into the most vulnerable households, next July, going into people’s bank accounts, there is talk of tax, a cut in National insurance is also worth an average of £ 330 for 30 million people next month.
“We are cutting taxes, we are reducing municipal taxes, we are reducing taxes where we can.”
The prime minister rejects the idea of ”psychological transformation” on his part
Husain asks if Johnson is taking lessons from “more of the same” instead of admitting he needs to change.
“If you’re saying you want some kind of psychological transformation to happen, your listeners know this isn’t going to happen.
“I want to keep changing and reforming our systems and the economy. If we’re going to discuss politics, we’re going to discuss how the railways work, this is a topic of fascinating fascination for people all over and under the country because of the railway strikes “.
Updated at 08.32 BST
Boris Johnson is on Kigali’s Today program talking to presenter Mishal Husain.
He thanks Oliver Dowden for his job as party president, before resigning yesterday.
“I have to take responsibility for everything that happens on my watch and humbly and sincerely accept all the criticism I get in a job like mine.”
He talks about being a “buffet” halfway through the election results. “My job is to look at exactly what happened and what criticisms matter and what I need to learn.”
Johnson says voters were “fed up” of hearing news about “things they thought I shouldn’t have done and things I did wrong,” which is perhaps an oblique reference to the party door. He says they want to hear about the policies and what the government is doing.
“We need to focus on all the things we are doing to move the country forward,” he adds.
Updated at 08.32 BST
Analysis: The Prime Minister’s rebels see opportunities
Rowena Mason
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.
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”.
‘Go now!’: What the newspapers say
The crisis engulfing Prime Minister Boris Johnson could be reaching its final stage, judging by the reaction of the press to the humiliating partial electoral losses of the Conservatives in Wakefield and Tiverton and Honiton.
The Daily Telegraph, the traditional voice of the Conservative Party, carries a headline with the headline “Conservative rebels plan the next step to overthrow the Prime Minister” and reports that the “enemies of the Prime Minister to push for control of the 1922 committee after the defeats of the by-elections “. .
The Times has a very similar main story under the headline “Prime Minister faces new Conservative threat” and cites a minister who said some disgruntled ministers facing dismissal in an upcoming government reshuffle could resign and lead “preventive attacks” against Johnson.
The Mirror says “Go Now,” echoing former Conservative leader Michael Howard’s call that the party would be “better off” if Johnson resigned.
The pressure rises on Johnson
Good morning and welcome to our live political coverage of the UK as the consequences of the Conservatives ’double partial electoral defeat continue.
Former Conservative leader Michael Howard was one of those demanding the resignation of the prime minister after the losses to Tiverton and Honiton and Wakefield, which led to the immediate resignation of party co-chair Oliver Dowden.
In his one-time resignation letter, widely seen as a call to others to act, Dowden told the prime minister, “We can’t go on with business as usual. Someone has to take responsibility.”
And Johnson also faces riots in later banks, with MPs hoping to get a majority in the executive of the influential 1922 Committee, hoping to be able to change party rules to allow a new vote of confidence. without waiting a year.
The Prime Minister, who is currently in Rwanda, will speak on the BBC’s Today program shortly. We will provide you with coverage of this, as well as all the other political news of the day, and coverage of ongoing rail strikes across the country.
Updated at 07.34 BST