Today’s vicious briefing will add to tensions between Boris Johnson, Rishi Sunak and No10. This is after No10 had to say that the PM was ‘well’ in light of his CBI meltdown.
Amid rising Tory unrest, Treasury sources have hit out at Mr Johnson for ‘blowing’ announcements including a huge £96billion rail upgrade.
The bruising swipe came after senior Conservatives vented fury at a series of bungles, demanding he brings in experienced big beasts to sharpen up his ‘f****** awful’ Downing Street team.
At the CBI conference, Premier Osborne gave a speech that was shambolic. He lost his thread and began a long and tedious rambling about Peppapig World. This fueled growing frustration.
Twenty-eight MPs rebelled against voting to lower the cap on social care earlier this week. Many more abstained. Although the scandal continues to be a problem for the party, the election results show that the decision not to upgrade plans for Northern Powerhouse rail and HS2 connections has caused tensions with Tories who hold crucial Red Wall seats.
Some MPs are even alleged to have begun sending no confidence letters to Sir Graham Brady, the chairman of the 1922 Committee – though there’s no prospect that they will reach the threshold necessary for the initiation of a contest.
The Guardian received information from a Treasury source confirming that the Integrated Rail Package was a failure partly due to its timing. They also suggested that’more attention’ should be taken before making any promises.
‘In the end what happened was that we blew a £96bn announcement that really should have been a lot more positive,’ they said.
However, a No10 source responded: “I’m not sure how moving dates on the calendar would have made any substantive difference.”
Johnson is facing a crucial test in his future when he faces the House of Commons PMQs. The government benches were unusually thin last week, as a result of anger over the botched handling the sleaze dispute.
Dominic Raab, Deputy Prime Minister of Pakistan, dismissed criticisms about Mr Johnson’s performances at the CBI and said that the premier was ‘ebullient’ and “tiggerish”.
According to BBC Radio 4, ‘I’m familiar with the personality of the PM’, he said on Today. “He was trying to convey the country’s optimism.
Raab stated that Johnson doesn’t abide by the script like previous politicians. According to him, he didn’t believe that Johnson’s show is the main focus of most voters.
Boris Johnson (right), attends the memorial service for David Amess, murdered MP, with (left-to-right) John Major and David Cameron. Theresa May is also present. Speaker Lindsay Hoyle, Theresa May, Boris Johnson, Boris Johnson, Priti Patel, Home Secretary, and Lindsay Hoyle are all there.
Amid rising Tory unrest, sources at Rishi Sunak’s (left) Treasury have hit out at Mr Johnson for ‘blowing’ announcements including a huge £96billion rail upgrade (right)
The summer saw relations between No10-No11 fall to a low point as Mr Johnson made no secret of his frustration at the free-spending behavior.
The Budget appeared to have secured an uneasy truce, with massive tax rises being pushed through to fund commitments such as the £12billion a year extra for the NHS and social care.
However, it seems that problems remain.
Tory insiders pointed fingers at Rishi’s allies, who gave some of the worst briefings. One line was attributed by BBC to a senior Downing Street source. There is concern within the building regarding the PM… It’s simply not working. Source said that Cabinet must wake up to demand major changes.
A friend of Johnson pointed out that Mr Johnson’s quote was now attributed to a “No10 source” rather than a “Downing Street source”, adding, “I think you need to look further down the street.”
Senior Conservatives said that tensions have resurfaced, and No11 was ‘pushing hard” to subvert Mr Johnson. MailOnline reported that Rishi’s 100 per cent are responsible. They are too different intellectually.
One of the suspects is Liam Booth Smith who was Mr Sunak’s key aide.
But, Treasury flatly denies any involvement in the vicious briefing. They claim the idea was ‘total rubbish made up’.
One source said that this was not Liam’s or any other Treasury employee. This suggestion was made to try and deflect blame.
Relations between Mr Sunak and No10 chief of staff Dan Rosenfield are said to have ‘not recovered’ from a bruising spending review last month in which the Chancellor was ordered to shell out a £35billion windfall from lower borrowing rather than build a warchest for tax cuts.
Mr Rosenfield has come in for particular criticism for failing to build a reliable machine that can see ‘elephant traps’, with a Tory aide dismissing him as ‘f****** awful’. Lynton Crosby, election guru and a candidate for the presidency is being drafted to knock heads together.
MailOnline was told by a former minister that the No10 top staff is not capable of the job and that the operation is mostly ‘run’ by teens who can’t get the “disorganised” premier to line. A more experienced person is required to provide the same support that Willie Whitelaw gave Margaret Thatcher.
The Tories have put the pressure on Johnson, a ‘chaotic’ and disrespectful man after Monday’s deplorable speech to CBI
On Sunday, the Johnson family appeared to have been enjoying their visit to Peppa Pig World.
19 MPs rebelled against the cap on social care earlier this week. Dozens more abstained.
Johnson is facing a critical test in his next challenge when he faces the House of Commons PMQs. The government benches were unusually thin last week, as a result of anger over the handling of the sleaze rows.
Many Government officials feel that Dominic Cummings is now Mr Johnson’s chief tormentor and former chief adviser.
Richard Holden was an influential Tory MP from the 2019 intake. He told Conservative Home that the government is ignoring opportunities to showcase the great work of such Conservative MPs at a national level. The Government is making some unforced mistakes.
Ex-leader of the Scottish Conservative party, Ruth Davidson, called the CBI speech ‘disrespectful’ and said that the country deserved more then chaotic, unprepared boosterism.
But Mr Raab insisted Mr Johnson is ‘on great form’, and shrugged off reports that MPs are sending no-confidence letters as ‘Westminster tittle tattle’.
BBC Breakfast: He said that the Prime Minister was in great shape. People talk about the speeches, gossip, and everything else in Westminster Village.
“It’s the job and duty of Westminster commentators, to find one anonymous source to condemn the Government of that day.
Raab continued: “The Prime Minister has an exuberant, buoyant, optimistic, Tiggerish personality and he livesn up his speeches in ways that few politicians past or present have done. But actually, there’s a steeliness about him as Prime Minister, as well as his team, which is why we all work together.
While No10 claims that the PM remains ‘focused upon the issues’, and doesn’t seem to be under imminent danger, it seems like the situation is getting worse.
Yesterday, Downing Street maintained that Johnson was ‘well’ and that he’s focusing on the delivery of public services.
After the speech that saw the Prime Minister lose his place in notes and make car sounds, Johnson was asked by Mr Johnson if “everything is OK”.
According to his spokesperson, ‘The Prime Minister temporarily lost his place during a speech. He has delivered hundreds of speeches. “I don’t believe it is unusual for people to lose their position in speeches on very rare occasions.
According to the spokesperson, “The Prime Minister is focused on providing services for the public.”
No10 stated: “The Prime Minister is, as you can see from Cabinet, focused on the problems that we face as the winter months approach and delivering important changes such as social care.”
When asked if Johnson would bring together a group of Ministers to give advice — as Lord Hague suggested – Johnson’s spokesperson said that Johnson has an entire Cabinet who can provide guidance, just as one would expect.
A spokesman for the Cabinet said that he wanted people to feel free to voice their opinions and speak up around it.