Boris Johnson has said he is not going to undergo any “psychological transformation” as pressure is piled on his leadership following the Conservatives’ double byelection defeat. The prime minister said he must “humbly and sincerely” accept any criticism he received in his job, but argued every government was “buffeted” by bad byelection results mid-term.
His comments came amid claims of new attempts from backbench MPs seeking to unseat him after losing the two byelections in Wakefield and in Tiverton and Honiton and the resignation of his party co-chair Oliver Dowden. Reports have claimed some MPs are seeking to change 1922 Committee rules so they can hold another vote of confidence. Johnson, speaking from the Rwandan capital, Kigali, to BBC Radio 4’s Today programme, said his role was to look at exactly what happened and “think which criticisms really matter”. When it was put to him that Dowden had resigned saying business could not continue as usual, Johnson said: “If you’re saying you want me to undergo some sort of psychological transformation, I think that our listeners would know that is not going to happen. What you can do, and what the government should do, and what I want to do, is to get on with changing and reforming and improving our systems and our economy.”
Asked about his comment on Friday that he expected voters to beat him up, Johnson told Sky News: “Well, I was speaking metaphorically and what I mean is that when you’re the leader of a country, in good times and in bad, you have to think about the criticisms that you get. And you have to recognise that inevitably when you’re the head of a government that’s taking the country through a big inflationary price spike caused by the increasing cost of energy, people are frustrated. “People are filling up their cars and cursing as they do so. I understand that, we have to help them – and I understand people’s frustration.” MPs who want to remove the prime minister are seeking election to the 18 most senior posts on the 1922 Committee, which dictates how to conduct confidence votes in Tory party leaders, the Telegraph claimed. At present Johnson is protected from another leadership vote for a year, after winning a poll this month – despite 41% of Tory MPs voting for his removal. Dowden’s resignation has led to concerns others could follow this weekend. As the scale of the defeats in Wakefield and Tiverton and Honiton sank in – both with worse than expected swings against the Conservatives – a string of senior Tories added their voices to those calling for Johnson to go. The prime minister is not due to return to the UK until Thursday evening, after attending a G7 summit in Germany and a Nato meeting in Spain.