Peer claims PM backs push for him to stay
Cruddas says Johnson told him he ‘wants to fight next election as leader’ in wake of members’ petition
A FORMER Conservative Party treasurer campaigning to keep Boris Johnson in office has told The Daily Telegraph that the Prime Minister “does not want to resign”.
Lord Cruddas of Shoreditch claimed that Mr Johnson told him over lunch at Chequers on Friday he “wants to fight the next general election as leader of the party”. Lord Cruddas said the pair discussed the Bring Back Boris campaign calling for a second vote among Tory grassroots to confirm whether they accept Mr Johnson’s resignation.
In just seven days, more than 10,000 party members have backed the campaign for a poll to confirm the decision by Tory MPS’ to force him out.
However, the claims were denied last night by a senior Conservative source, who said: “The PM does not support this campaign and respects the process of the leadership election. He does not support any campaign to put him on the leadership ballot and will back whoever is the next leader.”
Lord Cruddas claimed Mr Johnson had told him he was “enjoying following” his petition and “rooting for your campaign to succeed”. He added: “There was no ambiguity in Boris’s views. He definitely does not want to resign. He wants to carry on and he believes that, with the membership behind him, he can.”
There appears to be significant support among the Tory party rank-and-file members for Mr Johnson to stay on.
It raises the possibility that more members might sign the petition to keep Mr Johnson at No 10 than vote for either Rishi Sunak or Liz Truss in the party’s leadership election. Conservatives have been signing at a rate of nearly 2,000 a day since the petition was launched last week. Membership numbers are checked and names sent to Andrew Stephenson, the chairman at party headquarters in Westminster.
Lord Cruddas said Mr Johnson had personally invited him to lunch. The pair dined alone although Mr Johnson’s wife, Carrie, arrived half an hour before Lord Cruddas left, carrying their baby daughter Romy in her arms and accompanied by their son, Wilf.
Over lunch, Lord Cruddas said: “Boris thanked me for my ‘Boris on the ballot’ campaign. He said he was enjoying following it and he wished me well.
“He said he could understand the membership’s anger at what had happened ... that he wished that he could carry on as Prime Minister. He said he does not want to resign.”
Asked by the peer if he would “wipe away” his resignation immediately with “a magic wand”, Mr Johnson reportedly replied: “I would wipe away everything that stops me being PM in a second.”
Lord Cruddas said Mr Johnson wants to carry on to deliver for the 14 million people who voted Conservative in 2019.
He said: “He wants to carry on to finish the job. He wants to fight the next general election as leader of the Conservative Party.”
Lord Cruddas added: “He also said that if there was a general election tomorrow and he was leader of the Conservative Party he would win ... and I agreed with him. He has taken inspiration from my campaign. He hopes that there will be a way for him to stay on as Prime Minister and he believes the party will be making a big mistake if they ignore the wishes of its membership.”
A No10 spokesman said: “The Prime Minister has resigned as party leader and set out his intention to stand down as PM when the new leader is in place.”
Meanwhile, Mr Johnson could serve in a Liz Truss cabinet, a minister and close ally of hers has indicated. James Cleverly, the Education Secretary, said Mr Johnson is an “incredibly talented politician”. He said he would be “comfortable” with this as long as Ms Truss is.