Boris Johnson said Sunday that his government’s record was “remarkable” and “quite exceptional,” as he continued to sideline conservative internal criticism of his leadership.
However, in a series of interviews at the G7 summit in Germany, the prime minister tried to derail the dispute sparked by his statement that he wanted to remain in office until the 2030s saying he meant he was focused on the its reform agenda.
Arriving after two major partial electoral defeats revived talks in Johnson’s Conservative party that were forced to leave office in weeks or months, the prime minister’s comment on planning a third term led to claims that he was deceived.
When he left the Commonwealth summit in Rwanda on Saturday, Johnson was asked if he intended to serve a full second term in office after winning a general election, taking him to 2028 or 2029.
Johnson replied, “Right now I’m actively thinking about the third term and you know, what could happen then. But I’ll review it when I get there.”
When asked what it meant to leave after a third term, Johnson said that would mean staying in office until “the mid-2030s.”
The number 10 initially suggested Johnson might have been joking, but on Sunday morning, the prime minister said he focused on the long-term challenges facing the country.
“What I’m saying is that this is a government that is being given to the people of this country and we have a lot to do,” he told reporters at the G7.
Johnson was even more optimistic in a later interview with ITV News. When told that the Conservatives lost the by-elections in Wakefield, and in Tiverton and Honiton, because voters had lost confidence in him, and that this should be a source of embarrassment, Johnson replied, “No, because I think if you In fact, look at what this government is doing, it’s pretty remarkable, it’s pretty exceptional. “
Attributing the partial electoral defeats to the media’s decision to focus more on his personal conduct than on politics, Johnson continued: “If you want to look at examples of my leadership, I would tell you what we did to solve Brexit. that was very, very hard; what we did was make sure we had the fastest vaccine launch in Europe and what we are doing now to help people go through a difficult time. “
Northern Ireland Secretary Brandon Lewis told the BBC it was “a good thing” for the Prime Minister to talk about a third term, because it meant he was thinking about long-term challenges.
In his interview with ITV, Johnson also declined to deny a report in the Times that said he had discussed a Conservative donor, Lord Brownlow, funding the construction of a £ 150,000 tree house in Checkers to be used by his son, Wilf. According to the Times, the plan was abandoned after police raised security concerns.
Asked about the story, Johnson said, “There is no such structure.”
When asked if he had discussed building a tree house, he said “all sorts of allegations” had been made about his family in the past and he never spoke to them.
Deputies opposed to Johnson plan to use the upcoming 1922 Conservative Committee election to continue efforts to overthrow him. If a majority of anti-Johnson MPs are elected to the executive, they could remove the current rule by preventing another vote of censure before June 2023.
Over the weekend, Conservative MPs urged cabinet ministers to be firmer in their opposition to Johnson. Tim Loughton, a former minister, told Times Radio he wanted to see them “facing” the prime minister. “What I want to see in the cabinet is [more ministers] willing to say, ‘Are you crazy, Boris, if you’re thinking about doing it?’ ”he said.
Damian Green, who was the de facto deputy prime minister under Theresa May, went further, using an article in the Sunday Telegraph to urge them to mobilize against Johnson. “It’s no secret that a significant proportion of the cabinet thinks it could do a better job of running the country than the current incumbent,” he wrote. “Now would be a good time to demonstrate those leadership qualities.”
But a report claiming that up to six Conservative MPs were considering deserting the opposition was ruled out by a high-level Labor source.
“There are a lot of disgruntled people out there, and it’s true that pieces of conversation are being made,” he said. “But that doesn’t mean people are ready to jump on the boat.”
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