Boris Johnson is facing a tough week as Conservative MPs return to Westminster after being satisfied with what party members and voters want to force the Prime Minister to step down.
Johnson has devised a way to save his work – including the dismissal of his Downing Street job – as he seeks to hold staff accountable in his back room for the “culture” of drinking and drinking. Covid Lockdown Parties.
But Tory MPs on Monday have been shaken, with some claiming that between 20 and 30 allies have sent letters asking them to vote for a new prime minister.
“People are not always thinking,” said one former prime minister. One senior Tory MP said he had received about 500 emails in the past few days, almost all calling for Johnson to resign. “It’s too bad,” he said.
Although Johnson could face a disastrous vote if Tory MP 53 wants one, most Tories believe the Prime Minister has not been ousted. “There is a window of survival for him, but it is closing fast,” said one former prime minister.
The Prime Minister’s team still believes he can come back with more announcements, prompting him to move on to the mid-May elections.
Although Downing Street insisted it “does not recognize the word”, Johnson’s survival plans are now jokingly described at Whitehall as Operation Save Big Dog by his team of new ideas called Operation Red Meat.
Expectations from Downing Street executives and advisers follow the publication – probably this week – of a Whitehall party report by Sue Gray, a government official.
The Gray Report is expected to strongly criticize employees on Downing Street and explicitly discuss the drinking and violation of Covid laws. But he is not expected to blame Johnson directly on this.
Oliver Downen, The Conservative chairman, said he did not expect Johnson to face a subsequent inquiry into Lord Geidt, an adviser to the ministry, saying the Prime Minister would respond with parliament.
“I do not minimize the minute that the events we have seen were wrong,” he told Sky News on Sunday. Johnson was determined to “talk about the Downing Street culture that made this happen”.
Martin Reynolds, Johnson’s general secretary, Dan Rosenfield, chief of staff, and other communications workers are among those who can be removed from Downing Street.
Many Tory MPs do not believe Gray’s report alone criticizes Johnson, though many believe the “culture” of 10 – and reports from several parties during the closing Covid – came from above.
“If you have a boss who plays with the rules and is comfortable with the rules and does not quit, then it is not surprising that employees who work under him think he can do the same,” said one former minister.
Keir Starmer, Labor leader, believes Johnson is trying to hide behind a Gray report. On Sunday he said the Prime Minister had “disregarded the role of minister”, violated the law and should resign.
Dave Penman, chief executive officer of the FDA, said: “This is not the norm for civil servants, it is the No. 10 culture under this minister.”
While Johnson will be praised by many Tory MPs for cracking down on what he sees as the No. 10 misconduct, the arrival of counselors and officials could lead to problems.
“Who’s going to work for him now?” asked another senior counselor. “Form 10 is already bad. There is a rift between government workers and the end of politics. Everyone is looking for a way out.”
Johnson’s danger in searching for scapegoats is that he raises a group of people who want to tell him destructive stories. “The danger is that death will be cut off by a thousand,” said one former prime minister.
On Sunday, Downing Street denied claims that Johnson had been warned in advance that Reynolds was planning to “bring your beer” to a Downing Street farm on May 20, 2020, in violation of England’s closure laws.
Johnson hopes to be able to critique Gray’s report and try to go into the policy process to convince his Conservative opponents that he is still in power.
The key announcement is expected to be the lifting of the Covid-19 ban when it officially ends on January 26, with Johnson praising it as confirmation of the government’s vaccination campaign.
Also in the pipeline is the white paper Michael Gove has been waiting for for a long time, ways to reduce household electricity bills, a. suspending the BBC license fee and major military participation in directing migration across English Channel in small boats.
Many Tory lawmakers expect Johnson to survive to present his “Red Meat” points in the next few weeks, but in Westminster it’s easier and it can move quickly if destructive revelations appear.
Sir Roger Gale, MP for Conservative MP for North Thanet and one-half of the Tories for asking Johnson to resign, told FT: “I have had some annoying emails from people over the last few days about parties.
“All of this is opening old wounds for people, especially those who have lost loved ones and devoted themselves to closing. ”
Some Tory MPs believe Johnson is not taking responsibility for what happened, despite apologizing to the country last Wednesday.
One Tory MP said Johnson, in secret meetings, “appeared unrepentant, almost saying he was innocent”. The MP added: “We were all amazed – what does this mean for his personality?”
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