Former Brexit secretary, who has called for prime minister to quit, urges Tories not to change no-confidence vote rules
Good morning. Boris Johnson has been out of the country now for most of the last week but, as is often the case when a PM goes abroad to focus on international affairs, a domestic crisis remains a distraction. The two byelection defeats last week turbocharged (as they would say in No 10) Conservative party opposition to Johnson and his critics have been working on plans to get a slate of MPs elected to the executive of the 1922 Committee before the summer recess so they can change the rules, and allow a second no confidence vote to go ahead before next year.
But there was good news this morning for Johnson when David Davis, the former Brexit secretary who has already publicly called for Johnson to quit, declared that he was opposed to the rules being changed. Having won the confidence vote, Johnson should be allowed to remain in office unchallenged for another year, Davis said.
Whether it’s Boris or anybody else, dealing with stagflation is going [to require] some really difficult decisions. Do you want a leader, whoever it is, looking over his shoulder every month at this tax increase or whatever?
So no, I don’t want the rules changed. I don’t think they will change either.
I campaigned in 16 rebel seats and in Wakefield. I got the same thing coming at me every time. ‘We expect you to be a low tax party. We are not seeing that any more.’ We got to the highest tax take in history last year.
We don’t really have an agreed economic plan full stop.
I have people, working class voters in council estates, saying you’re not behaving like a Conservative government. You’re not Conservative. That is a terrible thing to have to face down if you are running the country.
