UK Tories warn Johnson 'gone in a year' unless he cleans up act

Senior British Conservative Party lawmakers have warned that Prime Minister Boris Johnson could be gone within a year unless he cleans up his act and shakes up his No 10 operation.

Conservative Party Chair Oliver Dowden conceded on Friday, after the Liberal Democrats won a major victory in the North Shropshire by-election, that voters had wanted to give the government a “kicking” because they were “fed up” with “sleaze allegations,” The Guardian daily reported.

Johnson, however, “did not appear repentant” about the accusations of parties in No 10 during coronavirus lockdown, or the scandal over his attempt to water down the legislators’ standards system that led to the by-election, according to the daily.

The British prime minister claimed in an interview that he did take responsibility for the electoral defeat but also blamed the media and public for focusing too much on “politics and politicians” rather than real issues.

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Veteran backbencher Roger Gale said Johnson was now in “last orders time” and warned that “one more strike and he’s out.” Former Scottish Tory leader Ruth Davidson also stated in an interview that Johnson was “drinking in the last chance saloon” and that MPs were “looking for a bit of bloody grip to be exerted”.

Other senior Tory lawmakers vented their anger at what they view as a self-inflicted defeat, calling on the British premier to implement a radical overhaul of his Downing Street team.

There was particular fury among Tory MPs about the allegations that Simon Case, the cabinet secretary charged with an inquiry into No 10 parties during lockdown, had been aware of a Christmas party held by his own private office.

Another Conservative former cabinet minister was cited as saying that MPs were already discussing among themselves how to get the prime minister to change his top team, and in particular, expressing reservations about his chief of staff, Dan Rosenfield.

He said MPs would be delivering a message to Johnson that he needed to shake up his operation and consult more with MPs, with the scale of discontent obvious after 100 rebelled against his plan B Covid measures this week.

Labor Party candidates have also pulled ahead in the polls over recent weeks, since news of a string of parties in Downing Street began to emerge.

At the same time, Johnson’s backbenchers have also become increasingly rebellious and fractious, with 100 of his own MPs voting against Covid restrictions on Tuesday.

The sizable revolt against Covid passports and face masks in more public places has now made it difficult for Johnson to ask parliament to bring in more measures against Omicron, despite a record number of cases recorded on Friday at 93,045.

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