Oris Johnson has entered another week in hopes of putting two heavy interim defeats behind him as he looks to bolster confidence in his leadership for the time being – if not in the next decade.
The prime minister is meeting his colleagues at the G7 summit in Germany during the latest leg of a series of international meetings that have held him outside the UK as questions about his future loom.
An announcement on steel tariffs is also expected in the coming days, which the prime minister reportedly plans to please voters at the heart of Labour.
Johnson has insisted the “golden rule” is to “focus on what we do” after raising eyebrows by revealing he has ambitions to remain in office into the 2030s.
He admitted on Sunday that he has had “no time” to reflect on the biggest regret of his premiership to date, claiming the government’s achievements have been “remarkable”.
But while he may feel at home with leaders abroad, his UK premiership is far from watertight.
The Conservative Party leader is under pressure from across the political divide after the twin by-election defeats in Wakefield and Tiverton and Honiton, fueled further by the shocking resignation of a minister.
Oliver Dowden stepped down as Tory Co-Chairman in the wake of Friday morning’s losses, saying he and Conservative supporters were “disturbed and disappointed by recent events”, telling Mr Johnson that “someone needs to take responsibility” .
According to The Telegraph, the prime minister has also been hit by another wave of letters of no confidence after revealing his ambition to run the country for not two, but three.
It comes amid suggestions from a move to change the rules of the Committee of Conservative MPs of 1922 to allow for another confidence vote in Mr Johnson within the following year.
During a trip to Rwanda over the weekend, the prime minister said he is “actively thinking” about fighting the next two general elections to become the longest-serving post-war leader.
Asked at the G7 summit in Germany on Sunday whether his ambitions were delusional, Mr Johnson said: “What I am saying is this is a government that continues to deliver for the people of this country and we all have a huge amount of money. “
He said the “golden rule” is to “focus on what we do” – to tackle the cost of living, the “huge” plan for a stronger economy, and “ensure the UK remains the kind of leadership offer that there is. the world that I know our people want”.
Prime Minister Brandon Lewis said in a round of interviews on Sunday that he thinks the Prime Minister is taking his ambitions seriously, arguing that his desire to look “long term” when it comes to his leadership “must be a good thing.” “.
The Northern Ireland secretary told Sky News he sees in Mr Johnson “drive and enthusiasm for what we want to achieve for our country”, and that kind of “lust” should be celebrated.
He told LBC there is no point in the prime minister “pretending to be someone else” after Johnson insisted he would not undergo a “psychological transformation” despite mounting pressure on his leadership.
In an interview with ITV at the G7 summit, the prime minister said the government will continue to do “remarkable” things.
Asked about his biggest regret of his tenure so far, he said: “I’ll leave that to think further, I haven’t had time to think about that.”
Meanwhile, Labor challenged the Tories to call early elections, with leader Sir Keir Starmer telling Johnson: “Bring it on.”
When asked in Rwanda whether he believed the questions about his leadership had been resolved, Mr Johnson replied, “Yes.”
But the expressions of discontent continued to come from its own back seat, with Damian Green, who chairs the One Nation caucus of Tory MPs, warning the government to “change both its style and substance” and calling on cabinet members with the hope for leadership to show their stripes.
On Sunday evening, William Wragg, the Tory chairman of the Commons Public Administration and Constitutional Affairs Committee, told BBC Radio 4’s Westminster Hour that he is concerned about the safety of his seat — and that of colleagues “by a much larger majority than mine” – which would likely be mitigated by Mr Johnson’s departure.
The Telegraph has reported that the Prime Minister plans to impose sweeping new steel tariffs in a bid to regain support in the traditional heart of Labour.
It said ministers also plan to announce a two-year extension of steel tariffs already imposed on developed countries and China. The deadline for the government’s decision on this is Thursday.
In the by-election in the Tiverton and Honiton constituency in Devon, their 24,000 majority was overthrown by the Liberals with a dramatic turnaround of nearly 30% of the Conservatives.
In West Yorkshire, Labor took Wakefield back with a 4,925 majority on a 12.7% swing from the Tories.