Daily Mirror (Northern Ireland)
PM: IT’S ALL SETTLED AND I’M STAYING PUT
Johnson shrugs off rebel MPS
BORIS Johnson reckons the question of his leadership is “settled” and he’s not worried by rebel Tories plotting to oust him.
The Prime Minister dismissed mounting anger in his own party in the wake of the two crushing by- election defeats as he sought to shift focus on his diplomatic efforts abroad.
Storm clouds are gathering again after the loss of the Red Wall seat of Wakefield, and Tiverton and Honiton in the Tories’ southern heartlands.
Backbench Tory MPS are urging the Cabinet to oust Mr Johnson.
Even a key Cabinet ally cast doubt on the PM’S plan to win a third term in No10.
Environment Secretary George Eustice warned: “We’ve got a lot of hurdles to clear before we get to that point.” Mr Johnson is today attending the G7 Summit in Bavaria before flying to Madrid for a NATO meeting.
Asked if he was worried about rebel Conservatives plotting at home, he claimed: “No, we settled that a couple of weeks ago. What I’m focused on is the stuff we are doing to help people with the cost of living in the short term.” The by-election blow comes only weeks after the PM clung on to power by winning a Tory no-confidence vote.
The PM claimed the vote gave him a “new mandate” to stay in power. He won by 211 votes to 148, meaning 41% of his MPS wanted him gone.