Boris Johnson urges Tory MPs to back Theresa May amid leadership speculation
3 min read
Boris Johnson has rallied Conservative MPs to back Theresa May amid calls for him to mount a leadership bid in the wake of her general election humiliation.
The Foreign Secretary urged colleagues to “calm down and get behind the Prime Minister” as she struggles to regain her authority after the bruising result, according to leaked text messages.
Mrs May shed her huge public support during the seven-week election campaign and ended up losing 12 seats and with them her Commons majority.
Her future now hangs in the balance as she grapples to form a minority government propped up by the ten MPs from the Democratic Unionist Party.
Senior Tory figures have suggested Mrs May is serving merely as a caretaker Prime Minister and will have to step down in the coming months.
According to the Sunday Times five Cabinet members urged Mr Johnson on Friday to stand against the Prime Minister as it became clear the Tories would fall short of winning a majority.
But in leaked WhatsApp messages obtained by ITV News, Mr Johnson told a group of Tory MPs: “Folks we need to calm down and get behind the prime minister.”
He added: “The PM is a woman of extraordinary qualities and frankly the public are looking to us to get behind her with discipline and determination.”
Mr Johnson pointed out the Prime Minister won more votes than anyone since Margaret Thatcher and argued she had a duty to “get on and deliver for the people of this country”.
He said the Conservatives had to stop the media “spreading mischief” and counter the narrative that Labour “somehow won this thing”.
Jeremy Corbyn “barely did better than Gordon useless Brown when we beat him in 2010”, Mr Johnson added.
The Mail on Sunday quoted a friend of the Foreign Secretary saying it was “go-go-go” for his leadership push. But Mr Johnson said last night the report was “tripe”.
Former Chancellor George Osborne this morning said Mrs May was a “dead woman walking” who will be forced to quit as Prime Minister sooner rather than later.
The Prime Minister has been asked to meet the powerful 1922 committee of Conservative backbenchers tomorrow as the crisis surrounding her leadership continues.
Meanwhile, Defence Secretary Michael Fallon revealed today that Cabinet ministers have told Mrs May she must adopt a more collective approach to government.
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