Two former Tories challenged Boris Johnson’s leadership last night, and the cabinet told him he had to “deliver” on the priorities of the people.
Following Thursday’s by-election losses, senior colleagues like Deputy Prime Minister Dominic Raab and Home Secretary Priti Patel urged the Government to “listen.”
Mr. Raab urged the government to focus on enhancing the lives of its constituents, saying: “We’re going to be ruthlessly focused on delivery, not let the distractions of recent times to take our eye off the ball.”
“Last night was a reminder that we must be unrelenting in pressing on with the work of delivering,” continued Culture Secretary Nadine Dorries.
At a press conference in Rwanda, a confident Mr. Johnson vowed to “keep going” and stated that people would continue to “beat me up and say this or that about me to attack me.”
That’s good, that’s accurate. Politicians should handle that, he continued.
However, Michael Howard, a former leader of the Conservative Party, asked the PM to step down for the good of his party and nation.
The party, and more significantly, the country, would now be better off under new leadership, the Conservative peer told BBC Radio 4’s World At One. Cabinet members ought to think very carefully about their choices.
William Hague, a fellow former Tory leader, urged Cabinet members to think about leaving in a Times Radio interview, saying: “There comes a point for a party where it is potentially heading towards a disaster and there’s tremendous loss of faith among party activists as well as voters around the country.”
There does come a time when Cabinet members must rely on themselves to carry out that task.
If I were in the Cabinet right now, I would act in that manner.
After the Conservatives lost the seats, Miss Patel said it was “necessary and right” for them to have a “moment of reflection,” adding that the government needs to “listen.”
After dealing with “distractions” like Partygate, Mr. Raab stated that the Government needed to be “relentlessly focused.” He continued, “I believe the Prime Minister said it best: we need to listen carefully and consider that feedback.
Even though he didn’t specifically mention the Prime Minister in his tweet, Chancellor Rishi Sunak stated that “we all bear responsibility for the results.”
4,000 miles away from Westminster in Rwanda, Mr. Johnson promised to “listen” to the electorate.
Before taking for a 6 a.m. swim in his hotel pool in the Rwandan city of Kigali, Mr. Johnson found out the results of the by-elections in the early hours of yesterday morning.
Oliver Dowden, the chairman of the Tory party, called him as soon as he got back to his room to inform him that he was about to quit.
He is claimed to have been shocked by the news because he had expected the results and Mr. Dowden had offered to handle the media broadcast round, according to sources.
He was scheduled to perform the morning round in the event that we lost the by-elections, which was not a surprise. What changed from Wednesday morning, the source questioned?
According to sources, “it’s not like he lost a home secretary or something like that which meant the Government can’t function,” the PM is unlikely to replace Mr. Dowden anytime soon.
Party insiders indicated that Mr. Johnson was unconcerned about additional resignations.
The PM agrees that he must accept responsibility, one person said. He is accepting accountability for the Government’s overall course.
The source continued, “It’s not the wheels coming off the bus, it’s a few of nuts,” in reference to the by-election results.