Boris Johnson pledges to refocus on troubled economy

Approval ratings for the PM have tanked amid a cost-of-living crisis and his attendance at parties during Covid-19 lockdowns.

‘We’re able to get on with talking about what I think the people in this country want us to’, Boris Johnson told a cabinet meeting on Tuesday. Picture: AFP

British Prime Minister Boris Johnson overnight on Tuesday pledged to refocus his government on tackling voters’ priorities, trying to rally his party behind him after surviving a Tory leadership spill.

Overnight on Monday, 41 per cent of Tory MPs voted to topple Mr Johnson, who until six months ago was feted as one of the Conservative party’s most effective political communicators.

Approval ratings for Mr Johnson have tanked amid a cost-of-living crisis and his attendance at parties in Downing Street during Covid-19 lockdowns.

On Tuesday, Mr Johnson rallied his ministers, saying it was time to focus on policy now that the abortive revolt was over.

“We’re able to get on with talking about what I think the people in this country want us to,” he told his colleagues at the cabinet table in Downing Street during televised remarks.

To underscore this point, Mr Johnson plans a packed agenda. This week, he will address the issue of housing affordability during a keynote speech. Next week, he will set out his plans for shoring up Britain’s inflation-stricken economy before burnishing his credentials as a global leader later this month at meetings of the G7 and NATO.

The government also plans to send a first batch of asylum-­seekers to Rwanda, part of a strategy to deter illegal immigration, a priority for many voters.

On paper, Mr Johnson’s hand looks strong. He presides over an 80-seat majority in the House of Commons, and under Conservative party rules there can’t be another leadership challenge for a year. The next general election doesn’t have to be held until early 2025.

Furthermore, the party lacks high-profile replacements for Mr Johnson. No other Tory has his name recognition or electoral record. However, some party members see Mr Johnson’s brand as tainted by successive scandals, combined with tax increases and policies intended to protect the environment that have alienated many traditional Tories.

Mr Johnson’s biggest issue is that the backlash has now become personal, said Tim Bale, professor of politics at Queen Mary University of London.

“It is not simply a policy problem, it is a personality problem,” he said.

“Johnson is the problem.”

A survey this week of loyal Tory grassroots members by the website Conservative Home found 55 per cent thought politicians should remove Mr Johnson. A poll by YouGov on Mon­day found six in 10 voters think the government doesn’t have the right ideas to fix the cost-of-­living crisis. The Conservative party trails Labour in the polls.

Tory MPs are struggling to reconcile that their party, which has long traded on a reputation for law and order, has a leader who was fined for breaking the law by attending his own birthday party during a lockdown.

Mr Johnson has apologised for the Downing Street parties and said he thought attending such events was a part of his responsibility to motivate staff. He has spent the past few days urging disgruntled politicians to move on from “partygate”.

On Monday, James Cleverly, a Tory minister loyal to the Prime Minister, said Mr Johnson was in “serious mode” and re­focusing his operation.

Tory peer David Frost, who was Mr Johnson’s chief Brexit negotiator, said the Prime Minister’s opponents had to accept he had won the spill, and he and his supporters had to accept a change of policy was needed.

“If he can change that, then he can get on to a different path and save the premiership,” Lord Frost said.

Later this month, the Tories face two by-elections that will lay bare Mr Johnson’s struggle to appeal to blue-collar voters and traditional Tory voters.

A committee is looking at whether Mr Johnson deliberately lied to the Commons by denying that Covid-19 rules were broken in Downing Street.

Deliberately misleading parliament is traditionally a resigning matter. The conclusions of that probe are expected before the Conservatives’ annual meeting in the northern autumn.

The Wall Street Journal