Major Conservatives are urging Boris Johnson to resign after a historic double by-election defeat, as rebel MPs began plotting new ways to overthrow him.
Former Conservative leader Michael Howard was one of those demanding the resignation of the prime minister after the losses in Tiverton and Honiton and Wakefield led to the immediate resignation of party co-chair Oliver Dowden.
In his one-time resignation letter, widely seen as a call to others to act, Dowden told the prime minister, “We can’t go on with business as usual. Someone has to take responsibility.”
Johnson’s critics hope to get a majority in the executive of the influential 1922 Conservative Committee of Deputies, hoping to be able to change party rules to allow a new vote of confidence without waiting a year.
As the scale of the twin defeats sank, both with worse-than-expected changes against the Conservatives, a number of high-level Conservatives added their voices to those calling for Johnson to leave. When asked if the prime minister should resign, Howard said, “I do.”
“The party and most importantly the country would be better off under a new leadership,” he added. “Cabinet members should consider their positions very carefully. It may be necessary for the 1922 Committee executive to meet and decide to change the rules so that another leadership election can be held.”
Former Secretary of State Malcolm Rifkind suggested that disgruntled ministers could act together to persuade Johnson to step aside.
“I think it’s very much in the public interest for the prime minister to seek his views. If he’s not willing to see his views, because maybe you’re worried about what they might tell him, then they should meet, at least in a certain number. , and go see him, ”he said.
Johnson took a defensive stance at a press conference in the Rwandan capital Kigali, where he is attending the Commonwealth summit of heads of government, refusing to admit anything about his own behavior was the culprit in the calamities of by-elections.
“I really don’t think the way forward in British politics is to focus on personality issues, be they mine or others,” he said. “No doubt people will keep hitting me, saying this or that and attacking me.”
He added: “In the end, voters, journalists, have no one else to file their complaints with. I have to take it. But I also have to continue the work of applying to the people of this country and that is what I was chosen to do. “
The prime minister will not return to the UK until Thursday evening, after attending a G7 summit in Germany and a NATO meeting in Spain.
Keir Starmer claimed the Tory party was “absolutely imploding” after Labor won Wakefield with a 12.7% swing, enough to secure a majority government if it played nationwide.
In Tiverton and Honiton, the majority of 24,239 Conservatives left out by the Liberal Democrats was the largest ever annulled in a by-election. “Boris Johnson has deceived the British people and taken them for granted for too long,” Lib Dem leader Ed Davey said in a rally for the victory.
“He has lost the confidence of his own party. He has lost the trust of the people of Tiverton and Honiton, a seat his party has held for more than 100 years. And he has lost the confidence of the country “, he added.
Andrew RT Davies, the Conservative leader in Wales, also broke ranks to criticize the Prime Minister for the first time, telling BBC Radio Wales: “Every day the Prime Minister stands up, like any leader, they must look in the mirror and ask yourself: can they continue to donate for their country and for the people who have put them in charge?
Andrew Bridgen, one of Johnson’s most persistent conservative critics, told the Guardian he would run in the 1922 executive election with a specific platform to change the rules to allow for another vote of confidence. More than 40 percent of Johnson’s deputies voted against earlier this month, but another challenge is not normally allowed for a year.
Bridgen said the 1922 election could be seen as a “chasing horse” to change the prime minister. “In 1922 it was a party vote. If the seats are filled with people who are in favor of the rule change, a sensible number 10 person might think the game is over, ”he said.
Former Brexit minister Steve Baker echoed the call for Johnson’s cabinet to act. “Like so many background MPs, I am looking for cabinet leadership, especially those who aspire to be seen to provide it,” he said.
Another party figure who has so far supported Johnson told the Guardian, “It wouldn’t hurt if you wanted to look in the mirror. You have to ask yourself, ‘I have a stomach for that, and I can do it.’ “Is it me?”
Most of the cabinet remained silent until Friday. Chancellor Rishi Sunak tweeted: “We are all responsible for the results and I am determined to continue working to meet the cost of living.”
A Conservative party source denied claims that cabinet members had been slow to offer support as a “barrel scratch” and that Johnson had spoken with his health secretary, Sajid Javid, and others.
“He spoke to Saj, [Stephen] Barclay and others. [Dominic] Raab and Priti [Patel] they appeared in the media before nine, “the source said.