PM must take heed of growing anger in the Tory ranks
BORIS Johnson ignores the anger intory ranks over the handling of the Owen Paterson debacle at his peril.
The ham-fisted attempt to spare Mr Paterson the humiliation of a 30-day suspension and overhaul the standards watchdog made what was a bad situation exponentially worse.
Mr Johnson should not brush this off as a predictable episode of mid-term blues. Any government should worry if “sleaze” rises up the political agenda.
Labour will use everytory scandal to try to convince voters Conservative MPS are intent on feathering their fluffy nests.
But the biggest danger for Mr Johnson is that the fiasco causes MPS to doubt his political judgment. Was it not obvious that Labour would boycott the proposed standards process?who persuaded the PM to seize on this disastrous strategy, or was there nobody to talk him out of it?
There was genuine sympathy for Mr Paterson – a Brexiteer warrior who suffered heartbreak when his wife took her life last year – and also concern about the workings of the disciplinary system, but the end result is terrible for everyone. How was this allowed to happen?
Traditionally, a leader has aides who act as his or her eyes and ears in the wider party, picking up on unhappiness among the troops.
There are complaints Mr Johnson instead has “sycophants” who do not pass on the worries of MPS who are aggrieved they were whipped to support the amendment.they can expect their opponents to bring up this element of their voting record at every opportunity.
The Government’s litany of U-turns has fed frustration that MPS are having to defend policies and positions that are then dumped. MPS need assurances that intelligent and experienced people are in Downing Street to tell the PM how the opposition – and most importantly voters – will respond to his decisions.
Sir John Major’s intervention has resurrected memories of one of the most painful periods in modern Tory history when an exhausted government was beset with scandals. Mr Johnson must ensure neither the stench of sleaze nor a sense of drift emanates fromtory benches.
If inflation and tax rises leave voters feeling worse off, any hint Conservatives are profiteering will be toxic. Mr Johnson needs to galvanise his Government and the country with a shared ambition for building a post-pandemic Britain.