No-confidence vote in Boris Johnson could happen within DAYS despite MPs being on recess – despite under-fire Tory leader planning a full reshuffle to fend off coup attempts
- No-confidence vote in Boris Johnson could happen within days despite MPs being on recess
- 1922 Committee of Tory backbenchers which oversees process for removing leader can hold proxy votes
- Mr Johnson yesterday mounted a ‘defensive’ mini-reshuffle in which he rewarded arch-loyalists
- But the PM will have to brace himself for John Major’s intervention in the Partygate row this week
A no-confidence vote in Boris Johnson’s tottering authority could happen within days despite MPs being away on recess, it has emerged.
The 1922 Committee of Tory backbenchers, which oversees the process for removing a Conservative leader, has the ability to hold proxy votes — meaning that should the threshold of 54 letters be met next week, a vote on the Prime Minister’s leadership could still take place even if MPs cannot attend in person.
Crucially, it means that Mr Johnson, who has faced calls to quit over his handling of the ‘Partygate’ drama which has gripped Westminster, could face a leadership rebellion in a matter of days despite his recent attempts to ‘reset’ his chaotic administration.
Mr Johnson yesterday mounted a ‘defensive’ mini-reshuffle in which he moved arch-loyalists within cabinet to shore up support on the lockdown-sceptic right of the party.
Last night it emerged that the Tory leader is planning a full reshuffle this summer as he prepares for a general election in 2023 and 2024.
However, the Tory leader will also have to brace himself for another political earthquake this week as Sir John Major prepares to accuse Mr Johnson of corroding trust in politics in a speech called ‘In democracy we trust?’ at the Institute for Government think-tank.
Sir John is set to call into question Downing Street’s response to alleged lockdown-busting parties, which at first saw a blanket denial issued by Mr Johnson’s press team.
The former Conservative prime minister is also likely to criticise the behaviour that led to accusations of hypocrisy being levelled at Number 10 officials who drank alcohol and socialised while the public was under Covid restrictions.
Sir John, a passionate supporter of Britain’s membership of the European Union, is a longstanding foe of the Brexit cheerleading Prime Minister. In an astonishing intervention in November, he accused Mr Johnson’s government of a ‘shameful’ attempt to protect disgraced MP Owen Paterson and reform standards rules during a lobbying scandal.
Yesterday the Prime Minister rewarded ministers most openly loyal to his leadership and avoiding creating more bitter backbench enemies as he conducted a limited reorganisation designed to placate rebellious MPs after months of calamity.
Senior backbencher Sir Bernard Jenkin last night warned that the ‘reset’ must not just be cosmetic. It follows a clearout of senior officials at the weekend as the PM tries to show MPs and the public he is serious about reforming No10 in the wake of Partygate.
He said: ‘We are looking for a change in the capability and character of the Government so we can have confidence that nothing as clumsy and mortifying as this Partygate episode can happen again.’
A no-confidence vote in Boris Johnson’s tottering authority could happen within days despite MPs being away on recess
The 1922 Committee of Tory backbenchers, which oversees the process for attempts to oust a Conservative leader, has the ability to hold proxy votes — meaning that should the threshold of 54 letters be met next week, a vote on the Prime Minister’s leadership could still take place even if MPs cannot attend in person (pictured, chairman Sir Graham Brady)
The Tory leader will also have to brace himself for another political earthquake this week as Sir John Major prepares to accuse Mr Johnson of corroding trust in politics in a speech called ‘In democracy we trust?’ at the Institute for Government think-tank
Boris Johnson has given his new communications chief ‘both barrels’ over a disastrous interview in which he declared the Prime Minister was ‘not a total clown’.
While speaking to a news website, Guto Harri had revealed that Mr Johnson sang the disco classic I Will Survive as they discussed his strategy to cling to power.
The interview – which appeared on Mr Harri’s first day as Downing Street director of communications on Monday – was widely mocked.
A Whitehall source said the Prime Minister had read the riot act to Mr Harri, and ordered him not to conduct further interviews. ‘This is not bloody rocket science,’ the source said. ‘What he did yesterday was not helpful in the slightest.
‘The PM gave it to him with both barrels on Monday afternoon, and Guto has now said he will not be talking on the record again. It’s fair to say the PM was not the only person he got it in the neck from.’
A Downing Street source last night denied the Prime Minister had reprimanded Mr Harri over the interview with Welsh language news website Golwg360.
Mr Johnson created a new post for Jacob Rees-Mogg — one of his most voluble backers — as Minister for Brexit Opportunities and Government Efficiency, which comes with a full Cabinet post.
The job comes with limited responsibilities, with much of the post-Brexit heavy lifting remaining with Foreign Secretary Liz Truss. He will run the Cabinet’s Brexit Opportunities Unit, No10 said. His previous job of Commons Leader was handed to chief whip Mark Spencer, who was axed from that party discipline role after months of mutinies from MPs that he failed to see off.
But the decision to shunt the Sherwood MP, dubbed the ‘Big Farmer’ by Mr Johnson, into a ministerial post instead of sacking him is being seen as an attempt not to add to the ranks of well-informed critics on the backbenches.
However, the re-arrangement of middle-ranking roles was dubbed a ‘he-shuffle’ because it was almost all men getting new sideways jobs and minor promotions rather than losing them.
Other moves for loyalists included Chris Heaton Harris replacing Mr Spencer as chief whip, while James Cleverly moved within the Foreign Office to become Europe Minister.
Paymaster General Michael Ellis was rewarded for several appearances in the Commons defending the PM with a job as a Cabinet Office minister attending Cabinet.
The only women to move were Heather Wheeler and Wendy Morton. Miss Wheeler becomes parliamentary secretary in the Cabinet Office, in addition to her current role as an assistant government whip, while Miss Morton moves from parliamentary under-secretary to minister of state in the Foreign Office.
Labour’s deputy leader Angela Rayner tweeted: ‘Whopping more than £35k pay rise for Jacob Rees-Mogg who was up to his neck in the Owen Patterson scandal. Similar rise for Michael Ellis who is clearly being rewarded for answering tricky questions on behalf of others. Who said dull men don’t fail upwards?’.
A source said that Mr Rees-Mogg’s new job would see him work on ‘making the most of our new freedoms for deregulatory opportunities, making our constituents lives easier and improving their standard of living’, as well as ‘modernising and improving the operation of government’.
Mr Johnson gathered his senior ministers in Downing Street as a new poll showed Labour opening up a 10-point lead as No10 remains bedded down in sleaze.
The poll by Redfield and Wilton Strategies, carried out yesterday, put Labour on 42 per cent, up 2 per cent, with the Tories down 1 per cent on 23 per cent.
It came as Mr Johnson found himself embroiled in a new row over comments he made about Sir Keir Starmer and the late child sex attacker Jimmy Savile.
The Tory leader was forced to give his new communications chief ‘both barrels’ over a disastrous interview in which he declared the Prime Minister was ‘not a total clown’.
While speaking to a news website, Guto Harri had revealed that Mr Johnson sang the disco classic I Will Survive as they discussed his strategy to cling to power.
The interview – which appeared on Mr Harri’s first day as Downing Street director of communications on Monday – was widely mocked.
The Prime Minister axed chief whip Mark Spencer after a month of mutinies and miscalculations. But the Sherwood MP, dubbed the ‘Big Farmer’ by Mr Johnson, was shunted into a ministerial post instead of being fired
Jacob Rees-Mogg moves sideways into a new Cabinet role as Minister for Brexit Opportunities and Government Efficiency. Other moves included Chris Heaton-Harris replacing Mr Spencer as chief whip
The Prime Minister gathered his senior ministers in Downing Street as a new poll shows Labour opening up a 10-point lead as No10 remains bedded down in sleaze
A Whitehall source said the Prime Minister had read the riot act to Mr Harri, and ordered him not to conduct further interviews. ‘This is not bloody rocket science,’ the source said. ‘What he did yesterday was not helpful in the slightest.
‘The PM gave it to him with both barrels on Monday afternoon, and Guto has now said he will not be talking on the record again. It’s fair to say the PM was not the only person he got it in the neck from.’
A Downing Street source last night denied the Prime Minister had reprimanded Mr Harri over the interview with Welsh language news website Golwg360.
But it is understood that he has agreed not to give further on-the-record media interviews while in post.
Mr Harri is a former BBC journalist who worked as Mr Johnson’s communications chief during his first term as London mayor.
He was appointed as part of a government ‘reset’ designed to show that the Prime Minister is taking a renewed grip on No 10 in the wake of the Partygate row.
Journalists were briefed that Mr Johnson was ‘bringing in capable, grown-up people who will make sure the machine works better’. Mr Harri made a combative start, taking on the leader’s nemesis Dominic Cummings on social media.
But he raised eyebrows on his first day by telling reporters as he arrived at No 10 that he had brought staff a gift of mineral water and healthy snacks – an apparent jibe at the alleged party culture in No 10. His interview, in which he discussed his appointment, raised further questions.
Mr Harri revealed he had asked Mr Johnson whether he would survive the current controversy, adding: ‘Slowly and purposefully, while singing slightly, he finished his sentence by saying, “I will survive”.
‘He inevitably invited me to say, “You’ve got all your life to live”, and he replied, ‘I’ve got all my love to give”, and so we had a little blast of Gloria Gaynor.’
Mr Harri insisted the Government could recover, saying that although the Partygate revelations had caused ‘a great deal of hurt’ they had ‘nothing to do with the way people voted two years ago’. He added: ‘He is not a total clown, but he is a very likeable character.’
Some ministers are also concerned about comments made by Mr Harri during recent years when he was a frequent media pundit.
The anti-Brexit New European newspaper yesterday claimed that Mr Harri said the Prime Minister now regretted the decision to leave the EU – a claim denied by No 10.
Last week, he told BBC Radio 4’s PM programme that Mr Johnson’s attack on Sir Keir Starmer’s record on Jimmy Savile was a ‘low blow’.
But one Tory source said the arrival of Mr Harri was ‘good news’. The source said: ‘The interview was a misjudgment but Guto is a serious figure who knows the PM well and won’t be afraid to tell him the unvarnished truth.
‘They go back a long way and Boris trusts him – he is someone who can say no to the PM, and that is what he needs.’
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