Boris Johnson has fueled conservative anger because he is leading them to the electoral disaster by rejecting calls for a change of style, though he insists many of the criticisms leveled at him “don’t matter”.
Major Conservatives spoke out after the prime minister scoffed at the idea of undergoing a “psychological transformation” to recover from the disastrous partial election defeats, saying, “This will not happen.”
In a defiant interview on BBC Radio 4’s Today program, however, he ruled out the main conservative figures who are about to resign, including former leaders Michael Howard and William Hague, arguing that they have no alternative policies.
Johnson declined to accept that the Partygate scandal was behind the defeats and said, “As a leader, you have to try to distinguish between criticisms that really matter and those that don’t.”
He continues with more claims that he wants to stay in power until the 2030s and fight the next two general elections.
Prime Minister Boris Johnson, photographed on Saturday in Rwanda, has further alarmed his conservative critics
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Alarmed Conservative MPs told The Independent that the comments had highlighted the reasons voters had turned their backs on the party at Tiverton & Honiton and Wakefield last week.
Alicia Kearns, a member of the 2019 general election, said: “It would be a mistake to dismiss the results of the by-elections, and even bigger to try to blame parliamentarians who were forced to act to maintain our conservative values. integrity and the rule of law.
“Voters sent a clear message, that their sacrifices were treated with contempt and that they will not vote conservatives as long as that is the case.”
Bob Neill, the respected chairman of the Commons justice committee, said, “The Conservative Party leadership is a leasehold property, not a freehold. Wise leaders never take that for granted.”
A senior Tory summed up the party’s difficult situation as “no change, no opportunity,” adding, “I’m not sure to abandon valid criticism, as not mattering is reasonable or likely to instill confidence in teammates they ask if he can now accept his mistakes and change direction.
Conservative MP Alicia Kearns said it “would be a mistake” to dismiss by-election results
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A second called for cabinet ministers to overthrow Mr Johnson, because he put “his own personal interests and ambitions” ahead of the party and the country.
“The Conservative party knows exactly where Boris’ leadership is leading us and it is deeply discouraging that high personalities are not willing to stand up and be counted, ”the former minister said.
“When that is over, the party will not forget those who kept him in power long after his time was up.”
And veteran MP Sir Roger Gale noted that the Prime Minister is abroad, saying: “He seems to be in denial and out of touch with the reality of what is happening at home.”
With the prime minister abroad for eight days, the Conservative rebels are planning to take control of the 1922 committee of deputies in next month’s election, a possible way to overthrow Mr Johnson.
Sir Roger Gale said the Prime Minister was not in touch with what was happening at home
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They would then try to force a rule change to allow another vote of censure by party MPs, raising the bar and preventing another challenge for 12 months, until next June.
Then another vote could be held in the fall if the approaching contempt investigation into whether Johnson lied to parliament about the No. 10 parties is condemnatory.
Andrew Bridgen, another Johnson critic, said several conservatives who supported the prime minister in this month’s censorship vote had “buyer remorse” and “regret that decision.”
The MP called for a new vote and told Sky News: “Changing the rules of the 1922 Committee, or even threatening it, is something Boris Johnson did for Theresa May.”
Speaking from Rwanda, the prime minister insisted that the public wanted to hear about his policies, not about what “he is supposed to have done wrong” – saying, “I want to continue to change and reform our systems and economy”.
Asked by the BBC if he accepted that he had “personally contributed” to the defeats in the by-elections, he only replied that he should be “responsible for everything that happens under my watch”.
When asked what would make him resign, Johnson noted any decision by the cabinet to “abandon” Ukraine’s fight against the Russian invasion, although he accepted that it is highly unlikely.
“I would accept that I lost a very important argument and go for it, but I don’t see that,” he admitted.
He received “100 percent support” from Foreign Secretary Liz Truss, who insisted the cabinet still supports the prime minister and that “incumbent governments often lose by-elections.”