Ministers told to get Boris Johnson out or face defeat at next election

Boris Johnson in Rwanda (Photo: Sky News)

Conservative cabinet ministers have been told to remove Boris Johnson or face defeat at the next general election.

Tory pundit Lord Barwell, who was Theresa May’s chief of staff in Number 10, said if the Tory party continues as it is, it is “sleepwalking to defeat at the next election”.

It comes after the party was wiped out in two key by-elections in Tiverton and Honiton and Wakefield.

Barwell told Sky News he was “very pleased” that someone senior in the party appeared to have “finally” recognized this and done something about it after Oliver Dowden resigned as Tory leader.

Barwell said Johnson’s authority had been “very significantly diminished” and had “flowed away”.

Lord Barwell said Cabinet ministers must ask themselves what they are doing to their own reputations if they continue to support him.

“Evidence is mounting that he has lost the public support he once had, that he looks extraordinarily unlikely to regain that,” he said.

“So if they allow him to continue, then they will allow him to lead the Conservative Party to a significant defeat at the next election.”

Sir Geoffrey Clifton-Brown (pictured) has expressed concern about his own seat following his by-election defeat. (Photo: Johnny Green – PA Images via Getty Images)

Conservative grandee Sir Geoffrey Clifton-Brown said it would “undoubtedly” be “difficult to hold onto” his Conservative seat if there were now a by-election in his constituency.

Speaking on BBC R4’s Today programme, the Cotswolds MP and committee treasurer since 1922 said: “I think if I ran under a bus today it would be difficult to hold my seat, there’s no doubt about that.

“I’m very sorry for all of our volunteers and my colleagues, and myself, who are working very hard on this by-election, but they’ve just been defeated by the situation we’re in right now.”

Dowden resigned as Tory leader on Friday morning after the party’s double defeat in the by-election.

In a letter to Boris Johnson, he said “we cannot continue with business as usual – someone has to take responsibility”.

Dowden said they were “the latest in a series of very poor results for our party”.

“Our supporters are distraught and disappointed by recent events and share their sentiments,” he said.

Johnson, meanwhile, sought to deflect from his leadership-related by-election defeats.

He told Rwandan broadcasters: “That may be your point of view. I think what governments also have to recognize is that I don’t want to minimize the importance of what voters say, but it’s also true that in the medium term, post-war government loses by-elections.

“I think if you look back at last May, the really amazing thing was that we managed to win Hartlepool in very different circumstances.

“What we need to do now is reflect where the voters are and what they feel is that we’ve come through Covid well and made a lot of the right decisions there. But we are facing cost of living pressures.

“We’re seeing increases in fuel prices, energy costs and food costs that are affecting people. We have to admit that we have more work to do and we certainly will, we will continue to address people’s concerns until we get past this patch.”

This article originally appeared on HuffPost UK and has been updated.

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