A bitter split has emerged among Conservative plotters over how best to restore Boris Johnson to his former role as leader of the party.
A move by one group of his supporters to empower the party’s grassroots members in order to pave the way for the erstwhile prime minister to return has been dismissed as “b*****ks” by a rival camp of Mr Johnson’s allies.
But the first group hit back, predicting he would be the “Conservative Harold Wilson – he will serve two distinct terms”.
Allies of Mr Johnson predicted there would be a number of opportunities to implement their plans over the coming months, particularly if the party suffers poor results in May’s local elections.
The row between rival factions erupted at the end of a difficult week for the former prime minister.
On Wednesday, he faced claims that he had quipped during a leaving do held at No 10 while Covid lockdown restrictions were still in place that it was the “most un-socially distanced party in the UK right now”.
Friends of Mr Johnson also suggested that he may have to strike a deal with Rishi Sunak and agree to refrain from challenging the current prime minister’s leadership in return for a safer seat to fight in the next general election.
And senior military figures criticised Mr Johnson over a planned trip to Ukraine, with one accusing him of “looking for publicity” in a war zone.
One former cabinet minister and a staunch ally of Mr Johnson told The Independent that they now believe there is “no chance” of him returning as leader, and that another change would be “disastrous” for the party.
Gary Streeter, the MP for South West Devon, said: “It is not going to happen … it is a small number of people plotting in a room.” But many of Mr Johnson’s supporters insist he should not be counted out just yet.
One former minister said a vote of no confidence in Mr Sunak, or pressure to force a resignation, could happen before June. The parliamentary party is hungering for someone who puts “fire in their bellies”, rather than the “dour” current leadership they fear will lead to a general election loss, they said.
Meanwhile, Sir James Duddridge, who shot to fame when Mr Johnson texted him during the last leadership contest to say “I’m flying back, Dudders, we are going to do this,” insisted there is “no plot” but said that work is going on behind the scenes to keep “the flame alive”.
This includes keeping Mr Johnson in touch with MPs and getting him around the country speaking to constituency associations, he said. He also admitted that it involves allies of the former prime minister doing all they can to ensure he wins re-election in his Westminster seat of Uxbridge and South Ruislip, and “making sure he gets through” a forthcoming parliamentary inquiry into the Partygate scandal.
If the seven-member Commons privileges committee rules against Mr Johnson, MPs could be asked to vote on a suspension serious enough to lead to the threat of a by-election in his seat.
Additional steps being taken to ease Mr Johnson’s future return as a leader were compared by Sir James to a “sausage machine that I don’t think the public wants to see”. But he said one minister who had resigned over Partygate had recently spoken to him about Mr Johnson and had been “in tears” over the realisation that the party had lost a vote-winner.
Sir James Duddridge is one Boris Johnson’s backers trying to keep ‘the flame alive’ for his potential return
Speaking about the drive to transfer more power to grassroots members at the expense of Tory MPs, who have kicked out three prime ministers in just five years, Sir James said: “The constitution of the party is really quite complex. It is not the answer to our problems. The answer is, first of all, MPs getting behind Rishi. And if that does not work, finding somebody else at whatever point.”
Another ally of Mr Johnson went further. “It is b*****ks,” they said. “There is nothing there. It is just not happening. It is a non-entity.”
Lord Cruddas, who is leading the Conservative Democratic Organisation group’s grassroots push, hit back, accusing MPs of trying to hoard power.
“It’s not a surprise to hear some MPs don’t want to change the rules, because they hold the balance of power,” he said. “But there’s little they can do if members come together. The members are fighting back.”
Boris Johnson was criticised for attending a gathering at Downing Street during Covid lockdown and still faces a parliamentary inquiry into his actions
