BORIS Johnson intends to carry on as the UK Prime Minister into the next decade, he has declared despite a fresh threat to his premiership.
As Conservative rebels plot to oust him after following a double by-election defeat, the Prime Minister insisted he was âthinking activelyâ about fighting the next two general elections to become the longest-serving post-war British leader.
He admitted he has not âhad timeâ to reflect on the biggest regret of his premiership so far, but claimed the Governmentâs achievements have been âremarkableâ.
Yet it comes as Labour claim that at least six Tory MPs are considering defecting to Labour, according to The Sunday Times. The paper also reports that rebel MPs say they "can't wait until July 2023" to oust Johnson in a second confidence ballot, while mutinous cabinet ministers are also considering whether to move against him.
The Conservative chief urged rebel Tory MPs not to focus on the issues he has âstuffed upâ after his authority was further diminished by a Cabinet resignation. And he insisted questions over his leadership were now settled after the loss of Wakefield and former stronghold Tiverton and Honiton.
But the attacks kept on coming from his own backbenches on Saturday night, with Damian Green, who chairs the One Nation caucus of Tory MPs, warning the Government âneeds to alter both its style and contentâ and calling on Cabinet members with leadership hopes to show their stripes.
Former minister David Davis also lashed out at the PMâs claim the only argument of âsubstanceâ for a change of direction he had heard from his critics was for the UK to return to the EU single market, arguing this is âplainly not true of me, or many othersâ.
Johnson earlier insisted the âendless churnâ of allegations was âdriving people nutsâ, as he pushed on with his Rwanda trip despite suggestions further ministerial resignations could follow.
Oliver Dowden resigned as Tory party co-chairman, saying he and Conservative supporters were âdistressed and disappointed by recent eventsâ and telling the Prime Minister that âsomeone must take responsibilityâ.
But Johnson set his sights on being in office in the âmid-2030sâ, in a run that would see him outlast Margaret Thatcherâs reign.
Asked by journalists at the British high commissionerâs residence in Kigali if he would lead his party into the next election, he said: âWill I win? Yes.â
In a buoyant mood, the Prime Minister added: âAt the moment Iâm actively thinking about the third term and what could happen then, but I will review that when I get to it.â
Asked at the G7 summit in Germany on Sunday if his ambitions are delusional, Johnson said: âWhat Iâm saying is this is a Government that is getting on with delivering for the people of this country and weâve got a huge amount to do.â
He said the âgolden ruleâ is to âfocus on what we are doingâ â to address the cost of living, the âmassiveâ plan for a stronger economy, and âmaking sure that the UK continues to offer the kind of leadership around the world that I know our people wantâ.
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Labour, meanwhile, challenged the Tories to call an early election, with leader Sir Keir Starmer telling Johnson: âBring it on.â
Further controversy loomed on Saturday evening as The Telegraph reported the PM intends to impose sweeping new steel tariffs in a drive to win back support in traditional Labour heartlands.
The newspaper said the changes were the same as those cited by Lord Geidt when he resigned as Johnsonâs ethics chief, as he claimed he had been forced into an âimpossible and odiousâ position by the Prime Minister.
Former Conservative leader Michael Howard has urged Johnson to step down for the good of the party and the nation, and called on the Cabinet to consider resigning to force him out.
But the PM said in Rwanda: âI love my colleagues and of course I would urge them respectfully: golden rule of politics, the more we focus on Westminster politics the more irritating it is to voters.â
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He argued that âwhatâs driving people nuts is this endless churn of stuff about things that Iâm meant to have stuffed up or whatever about my colleagues, their views of me, my character, the leadership, Tory blah blahâŚâ
There are suggestions of a challenge to change the rules of the 1922 Committee of Conservative MPs in order to allow another vote of confidence in Johnson within the next year.
Asked if he believes questions over his leadership are settled, Johnson replied: âYes.â
Conservative veteran Sir Geoffrey Clifton-Brown, who retained his Cotswolds seat with a majority of 20,000 at the last vote, is among the Tories to have expressed fears they could lose their jobs at the next general election.
In the by-election in the Devonshire constituency of Tiverton and Honiton, a dramatic swing of almost 30% from the Conservatives saw their 24,000 majority overturned by the LibDems.
In West Yorkshire, Labour seized back Wakefield with a majority of 4925 on a swing of 12.7% from the Tories.
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In an article for The Telegraph, Green said âimprovements are needed to restore trust in the Governmentâ.
âThe fashion of finding âwedge issuesâ where you divide the population and leave your political opponents on the wrong side of an argument only works when most people trust what you are saying to them. Without trust, we are left with bombast and rhetoric,â he said.
He added: âIt is not a secret that a significant proportion of the Cabinet think they could do a better job of leading the country than the current incumbent. Now would be a good time to demonstrate those leadership qualities.â
Also writing for the newspaper, Davis argued: âBoris likes to say that his critics have only one policy difference with him, namely that they want to rejoin the single market. That is plainly not true of me, or many others.
âThe biggest policy difference is that we want our Government to stop talking about tax reductions and actually deliver them, so that we are no longer the highest taxing Tory Government in history.â
In a piece for The Observer, Labour leader Starmer challenged Johnson to call an early election, insisting âLabour is backâ.
âFor months Boris Johnson has been privately claiming he will hold an early election,â he wrote.
âMy message to him is simple: bring it on. Because the quicker that election comes, the quicker this country will get a Labour government that delivers the positive change people are crying out for.â
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