Boris Johnson’s aides have reacted negatively to Liz Truss’s leadership jockeying, as Tories’ poll ratings plummeted to their lowest level in over two years.
After a number of ministers made it clear that they were against tougher Covid curbs, Brutal Briefing has been launched against the Foreign Secretary.
On Monday, a Cabinet meeting was tense. But Downing Street sources complain that Ms Truss did not speak much despite the fact her position received a lot of media attention.
Her reputation is well-known among MPs for being “on manoeuvres”, with Rishi sunak accused of positioning to ensure that a job opening opens up in the highest position.
One senior Downing Street source said to the Times that it was amazing at how many people have come forward and not actually said anything.
A government source also stated that she was trying to protect certain industries. This makes it sound like she is trying to position herself as a Conservative libertarian. This is a sign of despair and it all seems a little pathetic.
These clashes were triggered by YouGov research that showed Labour gained six points after an unfortunate run of allegations against Downing Street lockdown-busting parties and sleaze.
Boris Johnson and his allies have taken aim at Liz Truss for her ‘pathetical’ leadership jockeying
YouGov research revealed that Labour gained a six point advantage following a string of accusations about lockdown-busting and sleaze in Downing Street
Keir Sterner’s party had 36% while the Conservatives had dropped to only 30%.
In September 2019, Mr Johnson was charged with illegally proroguing the parliament. This was the last time the Tories had been so low in the polls.
These grim figures are based on the last survey, which was done yesterday.
At the weekend, he suffered another setback when his ally Lord Frost abruptly stopped slamming Covid curbs.
The Brexit minister walked out with a parting shot at the ‘direction of travel’ and saying he had hoped the end of lockdown would be ‘irreversible’.
Mr Johnson is also facing pressure to push through new restrictions to combat the surging Omicron variant, which would be deeply unpopular with many of his own MPs and ministers.
Another YouGov survey suggests that the percentage of people who believe Mr Johnson is performing well is down to 23%, while the number saying he’s doing poorly is up to 71%.
His net rating is minus 48, which is the lowest rating since he was No10 and an impressive turnaround from May when he received a positive overall score. His performance was rated at 48 percent, with 47 percent disapproving.
Downing Street is also concerned about the evidence that KeirStarmer has opened up a lead in the “best PM” metric. He is preferred over Mr Johnson by 33% to 23% – even though Labour is not widely considered ready to go to government.
Boris Johnson, who has struggled to free himself from months of claims about sleaze parties and lockdown-busting parties as well as Tory mutinies over “Partygate”, has had a difficult time.
According to YouGov, the percentage of people who believe Mr Johnson is doing well is down to 23% while that proportion saying he’s not performing well is up to 71%