Boris Johnson is doomed to be ousted by his own party before the next general election following this week’s damaging no-confidence vote, said former chancellor Philip Hammond.
The ex-cabinet minister said “the writing is on the wall” for the prime minister after 41 per cent of his own MPs voted to remove him – predicting his authority would “ebb away” over the next few months.
“I don’t think he will lead the party into the next general election. I think a rebellion on this scale is very difficult to survive,” Mr Hammond told Bloomberg.
Asked if the PM should resign, he said: “It’s academic … I’m not at all surprised that the prime minister’s position is that even if he’d won it by a single vote he will solider on.”
But Mr Hammond pointed out: “That was also Theresa May’s position after she won a no-confidence vote in 2018. But the writing was on the wall from that point on.”
The ex-chancellor added: “Authority just quietly drains away. It doesn’t happen overnight. I think we’ll see a drip feed of, unfortunately, bad news around the UK economy that’s going to make it much, much more difficult for the prime minister.”
Fellow Tory grandee William Hague said Mr Johnson’s position was “unsustainable” after 148 of his own MPs voted to remove from No 10.
The former leader argued earlier this week there had been a collapse of faith over the Partygate scandal that “almost certainly cannot be repaired”.
Current 1922 Committee rules say Mr Johnson cannot face another leadership challenge for a year, but there have been rumblings that rebel could try to change the rules if even greater opposition became clear.
Aaron Bell – a “red-wall” Tory elected in 2019 who voted against the PM – gave Mr Johnson a year to turn things round.
“The rules say he has 12 months. I think that’s a fair assessment of the amount of time that he’s got to convince people that he can turn this round,” he told ITV’s Peston on Wednesday night.
But Mr Bell did not rule out colleagues calling on the committee of Tory backbenchers to change the rules to allow for a sooner vote – with one potential flashpoint being the Wakefield and Tiverton and Honiton by-elections later this month.
The PM expected to confirm his intentions to allow lower-paid workers are to be able to use housing benefits to buy their homes – and extend the right to buy to housing association tenants – in a major speech on Thursday, as he seeks to repair his fortunes.
Cabinet minister Michael Gove said he still “enthusiatically” supports the PM on Thursday, saying Mr Johnson was doing a “good job” and it was a “privilege” to work alongside him.
Mr Gove also said he made a “mistake” by ruining Mr Johnson’s bid to become Conservative party leader in 2016. Asked if he would consider running against Mr Johnson again for the Tory leadership, he replied: “Oh God no.”
