Dorries: Bring back Boris... or face an election
TORY plotters must reinstate Boris Johnson to No 10 or face a general election ‘within weeks’, a former Cabinet minister has said.
Nadine Dorries, a staunch ally of the former prime minister and a backer of Liz Truss, made a fresh appeal to doubting Conservative MPs to stand behind the current leader.
In recent weeks she has called for Miss Truss to hold a fresh election if she was insistent on wavering over her predecessor’s policies.
But yesterday the former Culture Secretary said ‘only one MP has a mandate’ from both the Tory party and the British public – Mr Johnson.
There has been speculation that rebels are planning to put forward a unity candidate for a coronation-style entry into Downing Street.
Mrs Dorries insisted: ‘There is no unity candidate. No one has enough support.
‘Only one MP has a mandate from party members and from the British public – a mandate with an 80-seat majority.
‘The choices are simple – back Liz, if not bring back Boris or face a general election within weeks.’
Mrs Dorries, who turned down a chance to stay in Cabinet, has been warning MPs about ‘plotting’ against Miss Truss.
Last week she said: ‘They agitated to remove Boris Johnson and now they will continue plotting until they get their way.
‘It’s a plot not to remove a Prime Minister but to overturn democracy.’ Yesterday she said senior Conservatives who played a leading role in bringing down Boris Johnson have made a Labour victory distinctly possible.
Mrs Dorries said: ‘Tory MPs who orchestrated the coup and consistently campaigned against Boris Johnson made this possible. Sunak, Hunt, Stride, Baker, Javid, Harper et al.
‘If he was still Prime Minister, Labour wouldn’t be wasting their money because they would know they were facing another general election defeat.’
Last night a bombshell poll from Redfield Wilton Strategies showed Labour with a 36-point lead over the Tories.
Mrs Dorries noted: ‘This is what happens when you remove a democratically elected Prime Minister, the person people voted for.’