Mutiny at court of King Boris...
PM accused of ‘regal arrogance’ by Conservative MPs plotting to rebel against Budget in protest at power of No10’s overmighty aide Dom Cummings
BORIS JOHNSON is facing an extraordinary Commons rebellion by Tory MPs angered by the ruthless behaviour of his all-powerful adviser Dominic Cummings.
The resignation of Chancellor Sajid Javid – who was effectively ousted by Mr Cummings – has stoked anger on the backbenches over what one MP described as the ‘regal arrogance’ of the ‘court of King Boris’.
Now a group of rebels are planning to vote against measures in the Finance Bill when it is introduced into the Commons after the Budget, which is due to be delivered next month by new Chancellor Rishi Sunak following Mr Javid’s shock defenestration in last week’s Cabinet reshuffle.
With a majority of 80, Mr Johnson does not need to fear losing the votes – but the rebels say they are determined to remind him that he is not an ‘absolute monarch’.
It comes amid growing disquiet among Whitehall colleagues about Mr Cummings’ behaviour.
Mr Javid quit after Mr Cummings ordered his advisers to be sacked and replaced by Downing Street appointees as part of his power grab over No11. It was the culmination of long-running tensions between Mr Javid and Vote Leave architect Mr Cummings, dating back to Mr Javid’s declaration in The Mail on Sunday before the 2016 EU referendum that he would vote Remain – despite holding pro-Brexit views.
The situation deteriorated rapidly over recent months after No 10 and No 11 engaged in a briefing war over economic policies. Fatally for Mr Javid, he also clashed with Cabinet Secretary Mark Sedwill – whose complicity was required when No10 moved to assert its control over the Treasury by establishing a ‘joint economic unit’.
Mr Sedwill was infuriated at the start of last year’s Election campaign when Mr Javid’s advisers tried to use Treasury officials to calculate the cost of Jeremy Corbyn’s manifesto promises, in violation of the civil service’s traditional neutrality: the final figure of £1.2 trillion was subsequently splashed over newspaper front pages.
The rebel backbenchers, who number between 20 and 30 and do not wish to be identified, say they plan to vote against expected measures in the Finance Bill closing tax loopholes for the self-employed as a protest at Mr Johnson’s promotion of ‘compliant yes-men’ and ‘ministerial retreads’. More than 80 per cent of the new Government frontbench in the Commons were existing Ministers or had served as Ministers previously.
George Freeman, who was sacked by Mr Johnson as a Transport Minister, criticised the Prime Minister in his resignation letter, saying the country needed a Government ‘that supports its Ministers’. He added: ‘If taking back control means ironclad centralisation via Whitehall control, it will fail to deliver the real empowerment we need and promised.’ Another MP said the backbench anger was ‘genuine and justified’. He added: ‘It looks as if the criteria for a job is a proven track record of being ready to do whatever Boris – or more likely, Dominic Cummings – tells you.
‘We all thought Boris was leading a new-broom, new-look administration which would bring about real change in the country. But instead, it looks like the main qualifying criteria to be a Minister under Boris is that you already were under him, Theresa May or David Cameron.
‘Plus, it helps if you’ve demonstrated you can take orders from civil servants, as it was in the past, and from Dominic Cummings, as it is now.’
The MP added: ‘You ask for something from a Minister and they’ll say: “Can’t do that, breaks the rules, civil servants will never wear it.” Mention Cummings likes it and the chance is you’ll get a phone call later saying it’s all agreed. It’s not one particular batch of MPs that’s being ignored – there are very good people elected in 2010, 2015 and 2017 who for some reason don’t pass the smell test of Boris or Cummings.
‘The rebellion will be about putting a marker down to Boris that we’re not cannon fodder.
‘Given his words about Brexit and restoring the importance of our Parliament, he’d be wise to pay attention to it.’
Allies of Mr Johnson hit back last night by claiming the ‘absurd’ attacks were nothing more than the usual ‘sour grapes’ from people not given jobs last week. But former Tory Cabinet Minister Michael Forsyth agreed that Mr Johnson should put Mr Cummings ‘back in his box’. Lord Forsyth said: ‘The idea of Dominic Cummings having meetings with 100 special advisers or so, and telling them what to do, is not a very good thing for the good conduct of government or for democracy.’
In a bid to quell growing concern, Mr Johnson barred Mr Cummings from being present while he fired
‘They don’t pass the smell test of Cummings’
– and then hired – members of his frontbench team during the reshuffle.
After Ministers were appointed by the PM in the Cabinet room, some – including Justice Secretary Robert Buckland – were ordered to a side room to meet Mr Cummings. One Cabinet source said: ‘There was a b ****** ing list, with Dom
‘Confronted over cruel and unkind behaviour’
tearing strips off those he did not like, even if they had just been lavished with praise by the PM.’
Tensions over Mr Cummings’ treatment of the aides boiled over on Friday night when he was confronted about his ‘cruel’ and ‘unkind’ behaviour by defence adviser Lynn Davidson, a former journalist from Edinburgh.
She accused Mr Cummings of using previous meetings to humiliate advisers.
Mr Cummings initially defended his robust approach but conceded he would ‘go away and think about’ what she had said.
He then admitted that other colleagues in Downing Street had also criticised his behaviour.