Johnson goes into policy overdrive to placate rebel MPS
Northern Ireland Protocol tops PM’S ‘to do list’ in drive to move agenda on from Tory leadership crisis
BORIS JOHNSON is set to table legislation to go it alone over the Northern Ireland Protocol within days as he fights back from his MPS’ confidence vote with a series of policy announcements.
The proposed law to allow the Government to suspend parts of the Brexit agreement that governs trade in the province could even come this week.
The Prime Minister will also reveal an expansion of Margaret Thatcher’s Right to Buy policy to include those renting from housing associations, potentially helping millions on to the housing ladder.
And a joint speech with Rishi Sunak, the Chancellor, about the Government’s “plan for growth” is being organised for next week.
The announcements chime with Mr Johnson’s pledges to Tory MPS during Monday’s scrambled campaigning to rule in a more traditionally Conservative way. An appearance alongside Mr Sunak, who is said to still harbour hopes of being the Tory leader one day, will aim to project a message of unity.
The first flight to Rwanda for migrants seeking asylum in the UK is also set to take off next week.
On Monday evening’s vote of confidence in Mr Johnson’s leadership, 41 per cent of Tory MPS cast ballots that
‘It is [the] people who have the best feel for how to spend their own money, rather than government or the state’
‘The people who voted for you are the people on the payroll. Perhaps shuffling them would not be the wisest move’
would have removed him, and rebels have taken heart from that unexpectedly high number, even while No 10 tries to argue that victory ends the issue of leadership.
Not a single ministerial resignation was announced yesterday, despite some rebels privately predicting one – a positive development for Downing Street.
Mr Johnson, who called the 211 to 148 result “very good” and “decisive” on Monday evening, addressed his Cabinet at their regular Tuesday meeting and thanked them for their help. “Good morning Cabinet ... thank you, by the way, everybody, for all your good work yesterday,” he said before journalists invited in to catch his opening remarks.
He urged Cabinet to scrutinise public spending demands and find savings that would benefit the public, adding: “It’s not just enough to spend money, you’ve got to spend it wisely ... and we, as Conservatives and Conservative ministers have got to make sure at every stage we are driving reform and driving value.”
He also made another unspecific call for tax cuts, echoing arguments made on Monday as he sought the support of MPS. Mr Johnson said: “In the end it is [the] people who have the best feel for how to spend their own money, rather than government or the state, and that is our fundamental conservative instinct.”
There had been speculation among those around the Cabinet table that a reshuffle could take place to reassert Mr Johnson’s authority after the vote. A summer reshuffle was long planned in broad terms by the inner circle and it remains a possibility.
However, the size of the rebellion and the public support of his Cabinet col- leagues on Monday – most of them posted online messages backing him within hours of the vote being called – complicates the approach. Demoting Cabinet ministers who stayed publicly loyal risks triggering a resignation or public criticism from the individual, a factor acknowledged by some who work for Cabinet members.
One such source yesterday told The Daily Telegraph: “The people who voted for you are the people on the [Government] payroll. Perhaps shuffling them would not be the wisest move.”
There was also public support from President Volodymyr Zelensky of Ukraine, who said in an interview with the Financial Times that he was “very happy” Mr Johnson won the vote.
Some of the policy announcements coming in the weeks ahead have been long-planned, but will probably now be used to show Tory MPS that Mr Johnson has the drive and policy ideas to remain.
Last month, it was announced that the Government would bring forward legislation to make changes unilaterally to the Northern Ireland Protocol.
The agreement between London and Brussels was struck to keep the land border between Northern Ireland and Ireland open after Brexit. In return, goods travelling between mainland Britain to Northern Ireland, would have to undergo checks – trade barriers which London now wants to lift.
The tabling of legislation could prompt retaliation from the EU, though Brussels sources have told The Telegraph there is hope for a negotiated solution rather than a trade war.