A fierce war of words erupted after Boris Johnson’s allies accused the Tory rebels of almost certainly guaranteeing the defeat of two important upcoming by-elections by “poisoning the well.”
Commenting that they would further repel Tory MPs, they also insisted that the results would have no bearing on Mr Johnson’s position as Conservative leader, as they are now “appreciated”.
Opponents of the prime minister retaliated by condemning what they said was a “desperate attempt to deviate”.
Hours after Mr Johnson’s narrow victory in a vote of confidence this week, critics warned the prime minister that he was on loan and facing a key election test on June 23rd.
Earlier, in an 11-hour attempt to save his job, Mr Johnson promised Tory MPs that if they stayed with him, he would win for the party again. But many lawmakers fear that the public reaction to the Partygate scandal means that Johnson is already a electoral responsibility that will lose their seats in the next election.
They expect this to become clear when the party loses two key by-elections in opposite parts of England this month.
Just 24 hours before it was confirmed that Mr Johnson would face a no-confidence vote last week, an ugly poll showed the Tories on the verge of a crushing defeat in the Wakefield by-elections, 20 points behind Labor.
The latest controversy erupted after Mr Johnson’s campaign visit to Devon ahead of the upcoming by-elections in Tiverton and Honiton, sparked by former Tory MP Neil Parish’s admission that he watched pornography in the municipality.
The Liberal Democrats hope to eliminate the current majority of 24,000 Tories in great disarray.
During the same visit, Mr Johnson campaigned in Cornwall, where he again sought to draw a line under the busiest week of his term as prime minister, stressing his desire to increase home ownership.
But even when he appeared at the Royal Cornwall Show in Wadebridge, a Conservative MP warned that the party was suffering from “complacency” and “exhaustion”.
A day after Mr Johnson’s speech aimed at outlining political ideas in an attempt to bolster his post as prime minister, Andrew Bowie, a Tory MP from West Aberdeenshire and Kinkardin, wrote on the Conservative House website: “Where is the big idea? … What is the offer for the country? ”
A minister and an ally of Mr Johnson said the midterm election result was now a “price”, adding that it would not be a chance for the prime minister to prove he could still win the election because the rebels “poisoned the well”.
“They held a vote of confidence in the prime minister two weeks before the vote and then expect people to come out and vote for a conservative.” As if they haven’t seen all the attacks on the Conservative leader by his own MPs? They completely poisoned the well. “
He added: “[Mr Johnson] will win again. But this is not it. What did they think they were doing by holding a no-confidence vote at this stage in two election campaigns? ”
One of the leading rebels accused Johnson’s allies of “the most desperate attempt to evade.”
Another critic of Mr Johnson, Tory MP Sir Roger Gale, said: “They would say that, wouldn’t they? Polls in by-elections were appalling ahead of a no-confidence vote against the prime minister. And they were appalled by the prime minister’s behavior. Yes, of course, they will try to blame absolutely everyone but themselves. This is an administration that denies. “
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