As a trio of cabinet ministers entered the fray last night, senior MPs said the battle now risked doing even more damage to the party than the fall of Margaret Thatcher more than three decades ago. One party dignitary accused Johnson of installing unsuitable MPs in middle and lower government jobs when he knew he was leaving “to cause the most trouble for his successor”, who would inevitably have to sack most of them when he took office . “These appointments were the most appalling thing I’ve seen in politics,” the senior source said. “It was clearly a move to sabotage his successor’s first weeks in office.” Another senior government official added that Johnson was so outraged at the way he had been ousted, having won such a huge mandate in the 2019 general election, that he was now intent on taking revenge on those he held responsible and influencing events where possible. from outside. “This is not an administration that will go quietly. There is a lot of anger about how this all happened,” the source said. “Clearly a lot of that will now be focused on Rishi. It’s all very Trumpian.” A former vice-chairman of the 1922 Conservative supporters’ committee, Sir Charles Walker, told the Observer that calls for restraint were pointless because there was so much bad blood. “People like me can say until we’re blue in the face that the Conservative party must not dissolve itself, but our pleas will fall on deaf ears. “Clearly the prime minister remains deeply bruised by the chancellor’s resignation. Rishi’s camp will have to absorb a lot of anger in the coming days. This will apply to whoever takes over.” Meanwhile, Johnson’s allies warned the party he would soon regret abandoning him and accused the candidates vying to replace him of being unable to replicate his successes. They say Sunak, in particular, faces questions of “loyalty and decency” and accuse him of planning his leadership bid for months while publicly declaring his allegiance. On Saturday night, amid the succession turmoil, fresh allegations emerged that Johnson had lobbied for a job for a young woman who claims he had a sexual relationship with him during his time as London mayor. According to the Sunday Times, the appointment was blocked because Kit Malthouse, then a senior City Hall official and now a cabinet minister, suggested the pair were having an inappropriately close relationship. Johnson is said to have admitted to pushing her for work when the woman, who remains unnamed, confronted him in 2017. The allegations followed reports last month that Johnson had tried to secure his wife, Kerry, a role as his chief of staff during his tenure as secretary of state. The couple was in a relationship at the time. He is also accused of helping an American businesswoman, Jennifer Arcuri, access taxpayer-funded business travel after their 2011 affair. Boris Johnson is accused of trying to secure a senior Downing Street role for his wife Carrie while the pair were having an affair. Photo: Leon Neal/Getty Images Foreign Secretary Liz Truss, Transport Secretary Grant Shapps and the new chancellor, Nadhim Zahawi, all took part in the leadership contest on Saturday night, along with Sunak, Attorney-General Suella Braverman, former minister Kemi Badenoch and the chair of the commission foreign affairs. Tom Tugendhat. Shapps said he would focus on the cost-of-living crisis, while Zahawi promised to cut taxes “for individuals, families and businesses.” The chancellor also highlighted his “culture war” credentials, saying he would “focus on letting kids be kids, protecting them from the harmful and inappropriate nonsense foisted on them by radical activists”. Truss is expected to pledge to reverse the government’s recent rise in national insurance when she formally launches her campaign this week. Others expected to declare in the coming days include former cabinet ministers Sajid Javid and Jeremy Hunt. Supporters of Trade Secretary Penny Mordant are urging her to declare, while Defense Secretary Ben Wallace – one of the bookies’ early favorites – said on Saturday he would not throw his hat in the ring. The chairman of the 1922 committee, Sir Graham Brady, will meet senior MP colleagues and party board members on Monday to decide how to proceed with the contest. They are expected to agree a timetable that will reduce the number of candidates to two in a series of votes by MPs in the next fortnight. A buyout program will then follow for the latter two, leading to a vote by party members and the announcement of a new leader and prime minister in early September. According to the latest Opinium poll for the Observer, Sunak is the favorite among people who voted Conservative in the last general election. About 55.4% said he would make a good prime minister. Javid was in second place with 50.5%. Those close to Johnson are struggling to decide which candidate to support. “People are trying to sort this out at the moment, the field is muddied by so many unrealistic candidates,” said one. “There is a strong concern in what you might call the pro-Boris camp of some candidates – some, quite understandably, never understood what Boris was trying to do. “Then there are those who have been running leadership campaigns through the cabinet for quite some time, which is an act of utter disloyalty. If you are so far in your support for the prime minister you should have resigned months ago. I think this raises a fundamental question of faith and indeed of decency.” Johnson loyalists will consider any potential campaign by Home Secretary Priti Patel, as well as Truss and Zahawi, before deciding who to back. Another Johnson supporter said “buyer’s remorse” had already begun to mount among those who had helped oust Johnson.
