Boris Johnson mulls summer Cabinet reshuffle as he looks to regain control but Tory MPs call it a 'carrot for the gullible'

Boris Johnson at a partygate press conference in Downing Street on May 25, 2022.

Leon Neal - WPA Pool /Getty Images

• Boris Johnson is said to be mulling a Cabinet reshuffle in July as he looks to regain control. 
• The prime minister is facing a brewing leadership crisis, after more Tory MPs demand he resign.
• Backbenchers were sceptical, with one saying it was "being held out as a carrot for the gullible."

Boris Johnson is considering a reshuffle in mid-July, as he looks to shore up his leadership following yet another torrid week for the prime minister. 

Multiple sources said they were expecting a round of changes to the Cabinet in the "last week or two" before recess begins, which is currently expected in the third week of July.

Reshuffles are often carried out close to a recess to allow those who have been sacked to lick their wounds in private.

One Conservative MP said he had been personally sounded out about a job, although expressed scepticism about whether he would take it in the current climate. 

Another backbencher – who is not expecting to be tapped up for a job – said the reshuffle was "being held out as a carrot for the gullible," while others expressed a similar tone. 

Johnson is facing a looming crisis after four more Tory MPs submitted letters of no confidence in his premiership following the damning Sue Gray report into the so-called partygate scandal, which revealed the rowdy conduct at 10 Downing St. during England's COVID-19 lockdowns.

On Friday, Home Office PPS Paul Holmes resigned and a fifth MP – chair of the justice committee Bob Neill – submitted a letter of no confidence. 

The veteran backbencher said in a statement: "Trust is the most important commodity in politics, but these events have undermined trust in not just the office of the Prime Minister, but in the political process itself. To rebuild that trust and move on, a change in leadership is required."

But while questions remain as to whether Johnson will face a vote in his leadership, Number 10 is planning to promote "loyalists," sources said. 

Number 10 did not immediately respond to Insider's request for comment. 

Names in the frame include former justice secretary Robert Buckland, who "is being tipped for a come-back," according to one of his colleagues. 

Matt Warman, a former digital minister, is also in with a good chance of returning to government, sources said. 

Possible leadership rival Jeremy Hunt may be offered something in the hope of diminishing his threat, although one MP noted he was "not exactly winning many friends at the minute" after he claimed he would not have imposed lockdowns, despite numerous previous comments to the contrary. 

However, reshuffles risk making enemies as well as friends, which is one reason why Johnson's changes in February were something of a damp squib.

Ben Wallace, the defence secretary, has been tipped to leave government to succeed Jens Stoltenberg at NATO, which a backbencher said would "free up some space".  

However, more heads would need to roll in order to fulfill the more comprehensive reshuffle that is widely expected, following the more limited spring "he-shuffle".

Another Tory said: "Ministers were definitely a bit twitchy at the end of last week… they were nervy about former ministers returning for various reasons."

Read the original article on Business Insider

from Business Insider https://ift.tt/GoMxZ17