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Boris Johnson is going to ‘delay’ a cabinet reshuffle ‘until autumn’ following his party’s double by-election defeat, as Labour insiders claim ‘Operation Domino’ plan to bring across six Tory MPs is still ‘in play’.
Although the Prime Minister was expected to shake up his cabinet of ministers before parliament goes to recess on 21 July, he has reportedly told allies he wants ‘more time to think through’ the switches.
Environment secretary George Eustice, business secretary Kwasi Kwarteng and trade secretary Anne-Marie Trevelyan were all said to be ‘vulnerable’ in Johnson’s reshuffle, which has been pushed back because he will only return to Number 10 on Friday 1 July after a string of international duties.
A cabinet minister told The Times that those who are sacked in the re-jig coming in autumn could leave them to become ‘really vigorous agitators’ and end up undermining the government from the backbenches.
This comes as Boris Johnson appeared to play down his vow to stay as PM into the mid-2030s on as he faces more Tory plotting. The PM trolled his critics on Saturday by making clear he intends to stay in power for another decade despite the latest by-election disasters and dire polls.
Mr Johnson said he was ‘thinking actively’ about fighting for a third term – which would almost certainly take him past Margaret Thatcher’s 11 years in power.
And now it has been revealed that at least half a dozen Tory MPs were looking to switch over to the Labour party, with sources within Sir Keir Starmer’s party claiming that ‘Operation Domino’ is ‘still very much in play’.
A party source, an ex-cabinet minister who once supported Boris Johnson, described that the Prime Minister is ‘completely delusional’, according to the Mirror.
And a senior MP from one of the ‘Red Wall’ seats added that the PM was ‘showing increasing signs of a bunker mentality, and that never ends well’.
After the comments at the Commonwealth summit in Rwanda incurred fresh wrath from backbenchers, Johnson seemed to strike a much softer tone with regards to his survival chances as PM as he arrived in Germany for a G7 gathering.
Boris Johnson is going to ‘delay’ a cabinet reshuffle ‘until autumn’ following the double by-election defeat as Labour insiders claim ‘Operation Domino’ plan to bring across six Tory MPs is still ‘in play’.
Although the Prime Minister (pictured second from right with leaders at the GC summit in Germany on Sunday) was expected to shake up his cabinet of ministers before parliament goes to recess on 21 July, he has reportedly told allies he wants ‘more time to think through’ the switches
And now it has been revealed that at least half a dozen Tory MPs were looking to switch over to the Labour party, with sources within Sir Keir Starmer’s (pictured on Friday) party claiming that ‘Operation Domino’ is ‘still very much in play’
Asked by journalists if he was being ‘delusional’ on the topic, Mr Johnson said: ‘What I’m saying is this is a Government that is getting on with delivering for the people of this country and we’ve got a huge amount to do.
‘In the immediate future we’ve got to get people through the current global inflationary pressures, the post-Covid, Ukraine-exacerbated inflationary pressures that people have got, the energy price spikes that we have got.
‘But at the same time we have got a massive agenda of reform and improvement, a plan for a stronger economy, whereby we have to reform our energy markets, our housing markets, the way our transport networks run, our public sector – we’ve got to cut the cost of Government.
‘We’ve got to make sure we grow our economy by reducing the burden of taxation on business and on families and have better regulation.’
The Prime Minister mingled with the likes of US President Joe Biden and German chancellor Olaf Scholz in the Bavarian Alps at the summit which featured heavily on the fallout from Russian invasion.
He buttered up the leaders as he warned that ‘fatigue’ over the war could fracture the Western unity established in the first days of the conflict – as the UK, US, Canada and Japan kicked off the summit by banning imports of Russian gold.
Boris’s wife Carrie arrived alongside Boris before posing to have photos with the German Chancellor and his wife Britta Ernst.
Boris Johnson and wife Carrie has launched a charm offensive to try and woo world leaders at the G7 in Germany
The Prime Minister mingled with the likes of US President Joe Biden and German chancellor Olaf Scholz
Prime Minister Boris Johnson with (backs to camera) European Union Commission President Ursula von der Leyen and Prime Minister of Canada Justin Trudeau
Boris Johnson with Justin Trudeau in the holding room ahead of the official welcome ceremony during the G7 summit in Schloss Elmau
German Chancellor Olaf Scholz and British Prime Minister Boris Johnson walk during a bilateral meeting during the first day of the G7 leaders’ summit
The two leaders walked in the Bavarian Alps and discussed several issues as part of his wooing offensive
Boris was in good spirits during the meeting with the newly-elected German chancellor
They walked ahead of their bilateral meeting at Elmau Castle in Kruen, Germany
He was joined by his wife Carrie Johnson – who has courted controversy with Mr Johnson in recent weeks.
The couple are facing allegations that the PM wanted to build a £150,000 treehouse fitted with bulletproof glass for his son at Chequers using money from Conservative donor Lord Brownlow.
The Prime Minister faces myriad challenges at home after two crushing by-election losses in Tiverton & Honiton to the Liberal Democrats and Wakefield to Labour.
Mr Johnson said he was ‘thinking actively’ about fighting for a third term – which would almost certainly take him past Margaret Thatcher’s 11 years in power.Â
Boris Johnson walks with Chancellor Olaf Scholz ahead of Joe Biden at the G7 Leaders’ Summit 2022
 Boris and Carrie buttered up the leaders as he warned that ‘fatigue’ over the war could fracture the Western unity established in the first days of the conflict
Britain’s Prime Minister Boris Johnson speaks with European Council President Charles Michel, Italy’s Prime Minister Mario Draghi, Germany’s Chancellor Olaf Scholz, France’s President Emmanuel Macron, U.S President Joe Biden, European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen and Canada’s Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and Japan’s Prime Minister Fumio Kishida
The Prime Minister faces myriad challenges at home after two crushing by-election losses in Tiverton & Honiton to the Liberal Democrats and Wakefield to Labour
At the summit, Boris appeared to play down his vow to stay as PM into the mid-2030s today as he faces more Tory plotting
Leaders of the G7 group of nations are officially coming together under the motto: ‘progress towards an equitable world’
The PM trolled his critics yesterday by making clear he intends to stay in power for another decade despite the latest by-election disasters and dire polls
At the summit, the PM said there was obvious ‘anxiety’ about the fallout from trying to defeat Vladimir Putin’s aggression
He appeared to play down his vow to stay as PM into the mid-2030s today as he faces more Tory plotting.
Asked by journalists if he was being ‘delusional’ about his survival chances, Mr Johnson said: ‘What I’m saying is this is a Government that is getting on with delivering for the people of this country and we’ve got a huge amount to do.
‘In the immediate future we’ve got to get people through the current global inflationary pressures, the post-Covid, Ukraine-exacerbated inflationary pressures that people have got, the energy price spikes that we have got
The PM trolled his critics yesterday by making clear he intends to stay in power for another decade despite the latest by-election disasters and dire polls.
He won a confidence vote three weeks ago at the 1922 Committee but still faces mutiny from his own party – over 140 of whom voted to oust him.Â
During the summit he was also pictured with the Canadian prime minister Justin Trudeau and European Commission president Ursula von der Leyen as the leaders hope to keep the united front.
At the summit, the PM said there was obvious ‘anxiety’ about the fallout from trying to defeat Vladimir Putin’s aggression.
But speaking at the gathering in Germany this morning, Mr Johnson said he hoped everyone recognised that ‘the price of backing down, the price of allowing Putin to succeed… will be far, far higher’.
Asked if he was worried about support fracturing, the premier said: ‘I think the pressure is there and the anxiety is there, we’ve got to be honest about that.
‘But the most incredible thing about the way the West has responded to the invasion of Ukraine by Putin has been the unity – Nato has been solid, the G7 has been solid and we continue to be solid.
‘But in order to protect that unity, in order to make it work, we’ve got to have really, really honest discussions about the implications of what’s going on, the pressures that individual friends and partners are feeling, that populations are feeling – whether it’s on the costs of their energy or food or whatever.’
Gold exports were worth £12.6billion to Russia in 2021, oligarchs are believed to have been using bullion to avoid the impact of sanctions.
Downing Street says that because London is a major gold-trading hub, the UK’s restrictions will have a huge impact on Mr Putin’s ability to finance his war effort.
Scarred by a reliance on Russian energy that has hampered several European nations including Germany and Italy from going all out to punish Russia, the G7 was also warily looking at China – which it views as a systemic rival.
As the gulf separating Western allies from Russia and China widens, the G7 sought to rally other major players to its side with a major global infrastructure plan.
Biden announced the G7 project to rival China’s formidable Belt and Road Initiative by raising some $600 billion to be spent on everything from roads to harbours in poor countries.
In further outreach to the Global South, Scholz has invited the leaders of Argentina, India, Indonesia, Senegal and South Africa to the Alpine summit on Monday.
While Argentina and Indonesia voted at a crucial UN vote to condemn Russia, the other three abstained.
But all are being directly hit by a looming hunger crisis sparked by the holdup in grain and wheat exports from Ukraine, and India for instance has imposed restrictions on wheat exports.
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