Rishi Sunak was last night told that a backlash over Boris Johnson’s shock departure was coming under control amid calls for the party to unite to keep Labour out of No 10.
After a frantic weekend of phone calls and arm-twisting, Conservative whips informed the Prime Minister that the threat of mass resignations by Mr Johnson’s supporters over his ousting from Parliament was receding.
Mr Sunak is today expected to break his silence over his predecessor’s resignation.
Sources said he would use an appearance at a tech summit in London to pay tribute to Mr Johnson’s record, but urge Conservative MPs to focus on the public’s priorities.
He will also fight back over claims by allies of Mr Johnson that he blocked key nominations on his predecessor’s resignation honours list.
Rishi Sunak was last night told that a backlash over Boris Johnson’s (pictured) shock departure was coming under control amid calls for the party to unite to keep Labour out of No 10
Mr Sunak (second from right) is today expected to break his silence over his predecessor’s resignation
Energy Secretary Grant Shapps yesterday said ‘the world has moved on’ from Mr Johnson’s time in office.
And ex-leader Michael Howard said the party had to choose between backing Mr Sunak and handing power to Sir Keir Starmer.
Lord Howard said: ‘I would urge Tory MPs to remember that they have a choice between uniting behind the PM… or facing the fact that the country will be run by someone who at the last election wanted Jeremy Corbyn to be prime minister.’
Downing Street was rocked on Friday night by Mr Johnson’s decision to pre-empt a critical report on the Partygate saga by standing down from Parliament.
Nadine Dorries quit hours earlier after being blocked for a peerage on Mr Johnson’s resignation honours list.
Former Cabinet minister Nigel Adams, who also missed out on a title, resigned on Saturday, setting up a nightmare triple by-election next month.
Writing in The Mail on Sunday yesterday, Sir Jacob Rees-Mogg warned Mr Sunak would face ‘civil war’ if he tried to block Mr Johnson from making a political comeback.
A former minister loyal to Mr Johnson yesterday told the Daily Mail two more MPs were on the brink of quitting. ‘There is no co-ordinated plan, but people are very unhappy with the way Boris has been treated,’ the source said.
Energy Secretary Grant Shapps (pictured) yesterday said ‘the world has moved on’ from Mr Johnson’s time in office
And ex-leader Michael Howard (pictured) said the party had to choose between backing Mr Sunak and handing power to Sir Keir Starmer
Mr Johnson’s former communications director Sir Guto Harri said allies were angry at the way he was being ‘hounded out of politics’.
The prospect of a fresh round of Tory infighting has dismayed Mr Sunak, who is battling to convince voters he can defeat Labour.
Grim polling by Lord Ashcroft yesterday found that the public think he is failing to deliver on his key pledges, with just 13 per cent saying he has made progress on his flagship promise to ‘stop the boats’.
Last night, the situation appeared to be calming.
In a statement, Mr Adams went out of his way to insist he would not cause further trouble for the PM, telling supporters: ‘It is essential that the Conservatives under Rishi Sunak win the next election and I will do my utmost to ensure that happens.’
Read Related Also: JAN MOIR: Holly’s statement was utterly brutal. But there’s a terrible disconnect in this story
Another former Cabinet ally of Mr Johnson said: ‘We cannot undo the events of the past year or the last 72 hours unfortunately. I’d rather we all knuckled down and ministers actually focused on doing their jobs.’
Mr Johnson is braced for the Commons privileges committee to publish a highly critical report into his conduct as soon as today.
The former PM stood down last week after being sent a draft copy of the report which is expected to find him guilty of lying to Parliament over Partygate – something he strenuously denies.
Mr Shapps yesterday declined to endorse Mr Johnson’s description of the committee as a ‘kangaroo court’.
During a round of TV interviews, he paid tribute to the former PM’s record but urged Tory MPs to rally round Mr Sunak. ‘I think people around the country inside and outside the party recognise that Boris was somebody with many qualities,’ he told Sky News.
‘But we are now in a world where there are different challenges to face and we’ve got new management in No 10 getting on with the job…
‘I think the world has moved on from what was quite a dramatic period under Brexit and of course under the issues related to Covid, the vaccines and the rest of it.’
Writing in The Mail on Sunday yesterday, Sir Jacob Rees-Mogg (pictured) warned Mr Sunak would face ‘civil war’ if he tried to block Mr Johnson from making a political comeback
Former Cabinet minister Sir John Redwood (pictured) urged the PM to urge Mr Johnson’s call to cut taxes and become a ‘properly Conservative government’
Mr Shapps appeared to rule out an early comeback for Mr Johnson, saying: ‘There is no kind of chance of him coming back and saying, ‘Right, now I’m going to stand again’.’
Former Cabinet minister Sir John Redwood urged the PM to urge Mr Johnson’s call to cut taxes and become a ‘properly Conservative government’.
Sir John said: ‘He needs to take action now, this day, to show those by-election voters we mean business.’
Ex-Brexit Party leader Nigel Farage told the BBC he predicted Mr Johnson, who hinted in his resignation letter he could mount a comeback, could even lead a new party on the Right.
Sir Keir has called for a snap general election. Pat McFadden, the shadow chief secretary to the Treasury, said the country would be ‘bedevilled by chaos and instability’ if the Conservatives were allowed to continue.
