Will boris still be Prime Minister on New Year's Day ???

Seems there is serious doubt that Boris will survive as Prime Minister into 2022 even from his own (Lobby Fodder) backbench.


Nadine Dorries ‘kicked off’ Tory MPs’ Whatsapp group after praising Boris
MPs were reportedly discussing the impact of the Brexit minister’s resignation

Holly Bancroft
34 minutes ago
Culture Secretary Nadine Dorries has been removed from a Whatsapp group of Conservative MPs after praising Boris Johnson, it has been reported.

In the exchanges, published by Sky News, a number of MPs discussed the impact of the Brexit minister Lord Frost’s resignation on the “Clean Global Brexit” group chat on Saturday evening.

Theresa Villiers, MP for Chipping Barnet, allegedly shared an article about Lord Frost’s departure with the caption “very worrying the Lord Frost has gone”.

Andrew Bridgen MP then seemed to respond: “Worrying? It’s a disaster. Lord Frost was concerned about the policy direction of the Gov. So are most of the Conservative backbenchers.”

Marcus Fysh, the MP for Yeovil, reportedly called Frost a “hero” and “100% right on this”, while Geoffrey Clifton-Barton, MP for the Cotswolds, allegedly described the move as “a further hammer blow for the PM”.

Culture secretary Nadine Dorries then decided to stick up for the prime minister calling him a “hero” who delivered Brexit, according to the messages.

She added: “I’m aware as someone said today that regicide is in the DNA of Conservative party, but a bit of loyalty to the person who won an 83 majority and delivered Brexit wouldn’t go amiss.”

At this point, a screenshot of the Whatsapp chat appears to show Steve Baker, one of the pro-Brexit ‘Spartan’ group of MPs, removing Nadine Dorries from the group.

He then wrote: “Enough is enough”.

To which, Andrew Bridgen MP responded: “About time, thanks Steve.”

However later in the conversation Conor Burns, minister of state for Northern Ireland, appeared to support Nadine Dorries, writing her comments were “absolutely right”.

The apparent in-fighting comes after a bumpy few weeks for Boris Johnson’s premiership - including the Libdem victory in North Shropshire and questions over lockdown parties.

Brexit minister Lord Frost quit over concerns about the high-tax, high-spend direction of the Conservative party and new Covid restrictions.

 

Anyone running 'book' on Bori's survival as PM ???


Call for ‘wartime leader’ in No 10 after Brexit minister’s resignation

Geraldine Scott and Jonathan McCambridge
19 December 2021, 11:44 am



Boris Johnson’s “boosterism” will not see him through the crisis currently engulfing No 10, a senior Tory has said, as the resignation of a key ally prompted more questions about the Prime Minister’s future.

Brexit minister Lord Frost resigned with “immediate effect” on Saturday night, having previously agreed with the Prime Minister he would leave his job in January.

Citing “the current direction of travel” of the Government, as well as fears over “coercive” Covid measures and the wish for the UK to become a “lightly regulated, low-tax” economy, Lord Frost’s departure was described as a “watershed moment” in what had been an extremely damaging week for the PM.

Tobias Ellwood (Bournemouth East), who chairs the Commons Defence Select Committee, said many Conservative colleagues shared the desire for there to be “a consistency of where we want to go”.

He told Times Radio: “I think this is what perhaps unites more and more of the wider party, and we’ve seen this since the Owen Paterson debacle, is that it needs to be clarity of our vision, there needs to be a consistency of where we want to go, people need to be included, the decision-making in No 10 needs to be improved.

“We need an, almost like, a wartime leader, we need a strong No 10, and the machinery of No 10 around Boris Johnson, that’s what needs to be improved.

“The boosterism, the energy, is not enough in these current circumstances alone.”
Peter Bone, the MP for Wellingborough, told Trevor Phillips On Sunday on Sky News: “Boris has led this country exceptionally well … But what comes next? And that’s what I think Lord Frost is talking about.

“I think part of that rebellion of 100 Conservative MPs was partly due to the fact that we want to see the Prime Minister move to a more conservative agenda in future.”

Mr Bone also said he agreed with Lord Frost’s concerns over the prospect of “coercive measures” to control coronavirus.

The MP said: “I’ve cancelled all in-person meetings and the get-together with staff, I cancelled. I won’t be going to crowded places, but leave that up to the individual to make that decision, don’t have the state telling me what I have to do every day, and so in that regard, yes, I’m with Lord Frost on that.”

Health Secretary Sajid Javid defended the PM as he told Trevor Phillips: “I think Boris Johnson is the best person to take us through the challenges the country faces.”

He said he also understood the reasons Lord Frost had resigned and called him a “principled” man.

Lord Frost resigning piles more pressure on the PM, who has already suffered potentially his worst week politically since becoming Prime Minister with the rebellion, the loss of a former Tory safe seat in the North Shropshire by-election and continued allegations over parties in Whitehall during lockdown restrictions.

Mr Ellwood suggested it was now an opportunity to “press the reset button with the EU”.
Former minister Mr Ellwood said: “We’re still not out of the woods with the Northern Ireland Protocol and we have some rather larger decisions and challenges, which actually unite both the EU, Europe and Britain.”

He said: “As much as I think this is going to be seen as a hit for the Government, he was a critical character that’s been with Boris Johnson from the very start when it comes to Brexit, this is a chance for us actually to sort of move forward on our relationship with the EU.”

Stormont’s deputy First Minister Michelle O’Neill said that whoever replaces Lord Frost as Brexit minister will “need to find solutions” to make the protocol work.

Ms O’Neill told the BBC Sunday Politics programme: “This is the same David Frost who negotiated Brexit and he has worked to undermine it every day since.

“I am less concerned about what is going on in the Tory party and the dismay and the disruption.

“What I am more concerned about is that the protocol is made to work, that pragmatic solutions are found, that certainty and stability is achieved for all of our business community here who have been left high and dry in terms of uncertainty because of the Brexit mess.

“David Frost will be replaced by another minister and, whoever that minister is, they need to find solutions, work with the EU, make the protocol work and provide that certainty and stability that is desperately required.”

 

BREAKING: New 38 Degrees research shows that more than half of people who voted Conservative at the last General Election now think Boris Johnson is dishonest. [1] The research comes after a string of sleaze scandals, and shows that the government can’t get away with acting like there’s one rule for them and another for the rest of us.

Some politicians think people like you and I don’t care about the government’s recent bad behaviour - like the Downing Street Christmas party, or Boris Johnson trying to get his own MP off the hook for breaking the rules. [2] Geoff, this polling - and today's news coverage about it - proves them very wrong.


But for this new research to make an impact in Downing Street, it needs to be seen far and wide! The 38 Degrees team has tweeted about the findings - if thousands of us share that tweet now, it’ll spread right across social media and force the government to sit up and take notice!

So Geoff, can you share the tweet highlighting that most of the government’s own supporters think Boris Johnson is dishonest?
Clicking below will take you to the tweet - then just click the ‘retweet’ button under the image (the one with two arrows shaped in a square).
SHARE NOW

Twitter is filled with MPs, government ministers, journalists, and other people with political power. That’s why when we get high-profile news coverage like this, sharing it across Twitter is a great way to make it as impactful as possible. And as someone who’s campaigned on Twitter with us before, we wanted to ask you to help.

These findings are the latest result from 38 Degrees' regular research into public views of our political leaders. This is a big research project, Geoff, and it wouldn’t have been possible without thousands of 38 Degrees supporters chipping in a few quid. It shows that - together - we can do incredible things that improve our democracy.