LONDON (Parliament Politics Magazine) – Following by-election losses, demands for reform rose and Boris Johnson declared that a “psychological transformation” of his character “is not going to happen.”
The PM spoke after the chairman of the Tory party Oliver Dowden said that “business as usual” could not keep going.
He accepted criticism “humbly and sincerely”, Mr. Johnson stated on BBC Radio 4’s Today programme.
The difference between criticism that actually mattered and criticism that didn’t had to be evaluated he added.
After months of criticism over Downing Street parties during the 2020 lockdown, as well as high inflation and a less-than-anticipated win in a confidence vote from his party, the prime minister suffered by-election losses in Honiton, Tiverton, and Wakefield.
Johnson emphasised over and again that policies were more significant than any claims regarding his behaviour, during his remarks at the Commonwealth heads of government meeting in Rwanda.
According to Mr. Johnson voters were tired of hearing about his behaviour and preferred to pay attention to issues such as the state of the economy, the cost of living and “standing up to violence and aggression” in Ukraine.
Presenter Mishal Husain questioned the PM, saying that a lot of the criticism was directed at him personally and came from those who had worked with him.
Among them were his ethical advisor Lord Geidt, former minister Jesse Norman, who claimed the PM “presided over a culture of casual law-breaking,” his top policy advisor Munira Murza, who criticised Mr. Johnson’s “scurrilous allegation” about Jimmy Savile and Sir Keir Starmer, and .
As a leader, one must make a clear distinction between criticism that really mattered and that which did not, said Mr. Johnson.
If he had to leave Ukraine because it became too tough or the prices were too high, he responded, when asked if there was any principle he would think about quitting.
Of course, he continued, morality was a component of leadership.
However, Mr. Johnson was questioned about why he had not resigned after accusations of deceiving the House of Commons, losing the support of 41% of his MPs in the confidence vote or violating the law in relation to the Covid fine.
If it was feasible, let’s take a more happy approach to it, he remarked. Actually, what had occurred was that his colleagues had given him a renewed mandate, and he would keep delivering.
A question regarding the UK’s senior civil servant, Simon Case, having an unofficial talk about career chances for his wife, Carrie, was not addressed by the prime minister.
The PM responded by saying that the worst thing he could do was start a talk about his family.
