A senior Tory grandee today warned that Boris Johnson will turn into a “permanent nightmare” for his successor as No. 10 distanced itself from claims that he wants to remain in office.
Lord Hague, a former party leader and secretary of state, cautioned that no departing prime minister has ever been particularly helpful to the person who takes their place in No. 10.
However, due to his personality and the manner in which he was removed, he cautioned that Mr. Johnson might be more problematic than earlier leaders.
The PM would resign once a new Conservative Party leader is in place.
In September, Downing Street was compelled to confirm.
It followed the declaration by one of his allies—the wealthy donor Lord Cruddas—that he intended to “wipe away” his resignation and remain in No. 10.
Cruddas, a former chairman of the Conservative Party who received a peerage from Mr. Johnson, claimed that the PM “does not want” to step down and “wished that he could carry on.”
He is in charge of a small uprising among grassroots Tories who favour allowing Mr. Johnson to take on Rishi Sunak and Liz Truss in the election.
‘Our brutal parliamentary system, where heads of government are removed by voters or MPs and rarely come to a dignified end of their term, makes the torment of being replaced even harder to bear,’ wrote Lord Hague in a piece published today in the Times.
This is especially severe if a prime minister thinks they have never done anything wrong, as in the case of Edward Heath, or if they believe that while the electorate has always supported them, their MPs have never been strong enough to stand by them, as in the case of Margaret Thatcher.
Think of Boris Johnson right now. He will experience each of these emotions.
“He is going to be Heath with jokes added, and Thatcher without consistency, all rolled into a bundle of resentment, denial, attention-seeking, and attempted vindication that will be a perpetual nightmare for the new prime minister.”
The Daily Telegraph quoted Lord Cruddas as saying, “There was no ambiguity in Boris’s views.”
He is not at all interested in leaving. He believes he can continue with the support of the membership because he wants to.
Boris complimented me for my “Boris on the ballot” campaign, the peer said. He wished me well and said he was enjoying watching it.
He declared that he recognised the membership’s outrage over what had transpired. He expressed his desire to continue serving as prime minister.
He claimed he did not want to step down.
When the peer asked Mr. Johnson if he would use a “magic wand” to instantly “wipe away” his resignation, Mr. Johnson is reported to have replied, “I would wipe away anything that stops me from being PM in a second.”
Lord Cruddas continued, “He wants to keep going to get the job done.”
He intends to run for office as Conservative Party leader in the upcoming general election.
Following the remarks, a No. 10 spokesperson issued a statement that read, “The Prime Minister has resigned as party leader and put clear his decision to stand down as PM when the new leader is in place.”
And Ms. Truss last night rejected the notion that her predecessor will remain in Cabinet or run for prime minister again.
The Foreign Secretary stated that “what’s done is done” and that the departing premier would be enjoying a “well-earned sabbatical” when questioned about whether she would want him in her top team.
During the BBC discussion, Ms. Truss was questioned about whether Mr. Johnson would have a job if she won the race against Rishi Sunak.
‘Having spent time with him this week on foreign affairs, I very, very much suspect that he would not want a future role in the Government.
I think he needs a well-earned break from what has been a very difficult few years,’ she said.
“Simply put, I don’t think that is really an option,” she said. “After all, he was seriously ill with COVID-19.
We haven’t even talked about that, and that was a terrible moment when we didn’t know what was going to happen.
He has faced real challenges that no leader would have expected to face, the horrifying war in Ukraine.
I just don’t think it’s going to happen.
I think that what’s done is done, the party has made the decision.
I have expressed my opinions on that, and I have now put myself forward as a candidate because I think I’m the best person for the job and I don’t think he would want further involvement, she continued.
When pressed further, Ms. Truss responded, “I’m sure he’ll have a role, I’m sure he’ll be vociferous, but he won’t be part of the government.”
The straightforward response from Mr. Sunak is, “No.” He added, “That’s why I want to be prime minister. I think we need to look forward at this point.”