As he deals with fresh Tory plots and reports that Red Wall MPs are considering defecting to Labour, Boris Johnson sounded defiant today.
After losing two by-elections, the prime minister poked fun at his detractors by declaring that he intended to remain in Downing Street until the middle of the 2030s.
In order to surpass Margaret Thatcher’s 11 years in office, Mr. Johnson said he was “actively considering” about running for a third term.
However, today’s attacks persisted despite the fact that Friday’s resignation of party chair Oliver Dowden had already raised the stakes.
According to the Sunday Times, six Tory MPs are considering defecting, according to sources within the Labour Party.
Following the dismal outcomes in Wakefield and Tiverton & Honiton, one of the candidates to succeed Mr. Johnson stated to The Mail on Sunday that they anticipated the PM to face a challenge “within weeks or even days.”
Although Mr. Johnson successfully resisted a previous challenge earlier this month and should theoretically be safe for a year, Damian Green, the chair of the One Nation caucus of Conservative MPs, warned the Government “needs to alter both its style and content” and called on the Cabinet to step in.
David Davis, a former minister, reacted angrily to the PM’s assertion that the only “substantive” argument for a change of course he had heard from his detractors was for the UK to rejoin the EU single market, saying this is “plainly not true of me, or many others.”
Despite rumors that more cabinet resignations may follow, Mr. Johnson maintained the “endless churn” of accusations was “driving people crazy” and continued with his journey to Rwanda.
He told reporters in Kigali that after winning a vote of confidence earlier this month, concerns about his leadership had been “resolved,” and he promised he would not go through any “psychological metamorphosis” in an effort to win over MPs who were not in favor of him.
He responded, “Will I win?,” when asked if he would lead his party into the next election. Yes.’
The PM said, “At the moment I’m actively thinking about the third term and what could happen then, but I will review it when I get to it.” The PM was in a good mood.
In the meantime, Sir Keir Starmer, the leader of Labour, urged Mr. Johnson to challenge the Tories to call an early election.
The MPs plotting to unseat the Prime Minister after he lost Wakefield, Tiverton, and Honiton to Labour and the Liberal Democrats, respectively, will be enraged by the Prime Minister’s promise to stay in government for the next ten years.
Johnson would run for a third term in 2028 or 2029, extending him all the way to 2034 if the upcoming general election were to take place as predicted in 2024.
In actuality, the majority of Tory MPs are unsure about his ability to hold onto power through the end of July’s Commons summer break.
A contest was likely to happen shortly, according to one of the contenders who is thinking about running for leader if Mr. Johnson is ousted. The opponent remarked, “We are talking weeks or maybe days, not months.” Olive’s progress has changed it.
Oliver Dowden is known by the Westminster abbreviation “Olive.”
With recent developments leaving him “distressed and dissatisfied,” Mr. Dowden announced his resignation as co-chairman of the Tory party, informing the Prime Minister that “someone must take responsibility.” He emphasized his continued allegiance to the party, but not to Mr. Johnson.
Concerns in No. 10 about a Cameroon clique scheming against the PM have grown after seeing Mr. Cameron and Mr. Dowden, his former deputy head of staff, together.
The clique is believed to consist of Theresa May’s allies in Downing Street and former chancellor George Osborne.
The significance of the encounter, however, has been downplayed by a source close to Mr. Cameron, who describes it as one of their typical, “routine” meetings.
According to the source, “He [Cameron] had absolutely no prior knowledge of, or role in, Oliver Dowden’s resignation.”
The “tipping point” for Mr. Johnson, according to one Cabinet Minister, would occur if the Commons Privileges Committee determines that the Prime Minister deceived MPs when he said that No. 10 was free of violations of the Covid rules.
No PM could survive that, the Minister, who is also the PM’s probable replacement, added.
By the fall, the committee is supposed to report.
Nadhim Zahawi, the secretary of education, and Tom Tugendhat, the chair of the foreign affairs committee, are receiving increasing support from lawmakers and donors.
Additionally anticipated candidates include chancellor Rishi Sunak, foreign minister Liz Truss, health secretary Sajid Javid, and his predecessor Jeremy Hunt.
When asked yesterday if he wanted to serve out the entirety of his second term, the prime minister responded, “At the moment, I am actively thinking about the third and what could happen afterwards. But when I get to it, I’ll review it.
Then he added that in order to fulfill his leveling-up plan, he would have to stay in his position through the middle of the 2030s.
The country’s constitution, the way its judicial system is governed, how its borders are managed, and how its economy is controlled are all being changed, according to Mr. Johnson.
We are also starting a massive endeavor to come together and advance at the same time. And I happen to have a really strong belief in that.
It won’t be simple to complete. And they’ll claim that it hasn’t worked, isn’t working yet, and that the beneficiaries aren’t reaching this group. It will take some time. I want to keep pushing it along.
For his “Beergate” gathering in late April 2021, which he has stated will result in his resignation, Sir Keir could possibly find himself facing a fine from Durham police.
Contrary to earlier assertions, the force does impose retrospective fines—and for smaller meetings than the one the Labour leader attended, as revealed by The Mail on Sunday through a Freedom of Information request.