Senior Tories call on Theresa May to sack Boris Johnson and reshuffle cabinet
2 min read
Senior Tories are reportedly calling on Theresa May to sack Boris Johnson and reshuffle her cabinet in order to regain authority over her government.
Questions have been raised about the Foreign Secretary's loyalty after he published column in the Daily Telegraph setting out his own Brexit vision.
Many Conservative MPs are furious at Mr Johnson for publicly going against Government policy and want him to be sacked amid a wider reshuffle.
Mrs May has faced calls to quit from former Conservative party Chairman, Grant Shapps.
Though he enjoyed little support publicly from Tory MPs, behind closed doors colleagues have expressed concerns about Mrs May’s leadership.
The issue is set to be raised by the influential 1922 Committee at their meeting next Wednesday.
“There’s a general feeling that there’s support for her there, but I do think she needs to do a major reshuffle, and if she doesn’t act to sack Boris and to bring some new people on board, she has a problem,” one MP, told the Guardian.
The source said several colleagues had asked them to raise concerns about the make-up of the Cabinet.
Another said: “Some people are saying, ‘impose some discipline, show that you can sack some people,’ and I think she has the authority to do that.”
The Prime Minister has suffered a difficult week. Her first speech after the disastrous general election to the Conservative party conference was meant to offer an apology to activists and regain some authority.
Instead she was handed a P45 by a professional comedian, plagued by a cough and suffered further indignity when the signing on the stage behind her began to collapse.
Mr Johnson’s future was a topic of intense focus at the Conservative party conference.
While he enjoys the support of some activists, eyebrows were raised after a gaffe at a conference fringe event.
Three Tory MPs – Heidi Allen, Anna Soubry and Sarah Wollaston – called for Mr Johnson to be sacked after he said the war-torn city of Sirte only had to “clear the dead bodies away” to become a world-class tourist attraction.
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