Nadine Dorries, a cabinet member, has warned Conservative MPs that they would “hugely regret” overthrowing Boris Johnson as he gets ready to pass the reins to his successor.
One of Mr. Johnson’s most ardent supporters, the Culture Secretary, said that the Prime Minister’s resignation was the result of “collective lunacy” on the part of the Conservative Party.
After forcing Mr. Johnson to quit last summer, Ms. Dorries blasted the ‘grave error’ made by Tory rebels.
She cited Mr. Johnson’s track record of electoral success and expressed sadness at the PM’s opponents’ “very odd” behaviour.
The warning from Ms. Dorries to her own party comes just before Mr. Johnson’s last weekend in office.
The Johnsons’ last possessions are being removed from their apartment above Number 11 this morning, and removal vehicles have been observed in Downing Street.
The retiring premier may someday run for a second term as prime minister, according to a longtime friend of Mr. Johnson.
Lord Marland, a Tory lord, said Mr. Johnson will “have that potential” to make a political return when he has made some money outside of politics.
This week, Liz Truss made the suggestion that she would leave the apartment’s furnishings alone if she were to win the Tory leadership race and succeed Mr. Johnson as PM.
In response to a question about whether she would maintain the Johnsons’ furnishings after their contentious £200,000 renovation of the home, the Foreign Secretary stated she believed in “value for money.”
During his last weeks in office, the prime minister has been dividing his time between Downing Street and Chequers, his official country estate in Buckinghamshire.
Whether Ms. Truss or Rishi Sunak are chosen as the next leader of the Conservative Party, the announcement will be made on Monday after the conclusion of today’s voting by party members at 5 p.m.
After delivering his last speech to the country from Downing Street on Tuesday morning, Mr. Johnson will next go to Scotland to officially submit his resignation to the Queen at Balmoral.
After their personal visit with Her Majesty on Tuesday afternoon and the installation of his replacement, the new Tory leader’s first priority will be to mend fences within the party after a contentious leadership race.
Ms. Dorries also cautioned that many people are still dealing with the severity of Mr. Johnson’s fallout.
She said on Politico’s Westminster Insider podcast that it was a grave error for the party to remove Boris Johnson as prime minister, and they would later come to regret it.
“Removing a Prime Minister who led us to a comfortable majority position for the first time in 40 years is practically a sign of collective lunacy in my party.”
I am aware that some individuals are still having trouble accepting what has transpired.
And I believe it will take some time before people realise what has occurred and come to understand it. But it’s been very strange.
The hopes of Mr. Johnson’s supporters are now “on Liz’s shoulders,” Ms. Dorries, who is backing Ms Truss for the Tory leadership, said.
The Culture Secretary continued, taking a shot at Mr. Sunak, the previous Chancellor: “So much of what I’ve tried to do as a Cabinet minister in my department has been obstructed by the Treasury.”
If the Tories lose the next election and are forced to hunt for a new party leader “who can win elections,” the departing prime minister may make a return, according to Lord Marland, who assisted Mr. Johnson in his 2008 campaign for mayor of London.
The Tory peer remarked to BBC Newsnight, “He said to me the other day, he wants to go and put hay in the loft—in other words, build up his money balance so he can afford to pay for the lifestyle he has built.”
“I believe that if he is still an MP after he has done that, he does have that possibility.”