Boris Johnson is planning a major government ‘reset’ before summer to consolidate his grip on No10 following yesterday’s ‘tough’ election results.
Whitehall sources said the Prime Minister would carry out a Cabinet reshuffle and put tackling the cost of living at the heart of Tory priorities for the next election.
Yesterday, Mr Johnson hinted that the Government would come forward with more help for fuel bills if energy costs continued to soar.
The Conservatives were last night on course to lose about 300 seats in local elections in England – far fewer than had been feared.
Tory high command was relieved and encouraged that Labour failed to make significant gains, especially in Red Wall areas.
The PM’s backbench Tory critics, who had pencilled in yesterday for a possible coup, were silenced, with only long-time rebel Tobias Ellwood calling for him to quit.
The former defence minister said it had become a ‘requirement’, adding: ‘We’re kidding ourselves if we think everything’s OK.’
But Tory top brass remain nervous that the PM could still face pressure if he is hit with further Partygate fines or fails to deal with the cost of living crisis.
At 7pm last night, with 141 of 146 councils in England having declared their results, Labour had gained just 51 councillors, compared to the Liberal Democrats who had an extra 182.
But a BBC projection suggested Labour would make gains if there was a general election. It put the party on 291 seats, with the Tories on 253 and the Lib Dems on 31.
This would put Labour and the Lib Dems within touching distance of the 326 needed for a majority.
Labour won just 202 seats in 2019 under Jeremy Corbyn.
A source said the PM would hold a reshuffle within two months to ‘put in place the team who will take us into the next election’.
He is also expected to give a major speech setting out the Government’s priorities for the rest of the Parliament, including softening the blow of the cost of living crisis, delivering on the levelling-up agenda and tackling crime.
‘There will be a reset moment in the next couple of months,’ the source said.
‘The PM will set out to the public the things they can expect us to concentrate on in the run-up to the next election. You can expect to see the cost of living at the top of that.’