Boris Johnson’s father has said he is still not sure he would vote for him if he tries to take back leadership of the UK.
On The Pat Kenny Show this morning, Stanley Johnson said he wants the next Tory leader to reset relationships with the EU and work to protect the environment.
He said his son may be the man to rebuild bridges with Europe – but he has still not decided whether he has his vote.
“I am going to look at what Boris has to offer,” he said.
“Yes, of course I recognise he has got a fantastic record - and he was voted in 2019 with an 80-seat majority - but there are certain things which, even though I’m his father, I would want to be sure about.
“I want to be sure that he really tries to reset the relationships with the EU.”
British Prime Minister Boris Johnson, 09-04-2022. Image: Alamy Live NewsMr Johnson said his son could be in a strong position to work with Europe, even though he is one of the UK's leading Brexiteers.
“Ironically, because he was the man who helped get us out of Europe, I think he could be in a very good place to say look, come on, we’ve got to really work on building bridges with the EU in every possible way, including of course in the trade way,” said Mr Johnson.
Brexiteer
After presenter Anton Savage pointed out that it might be difficult to be the man who builds the bridges when he was so instrumental in tearing them down, Mr Johnson disagreed.
“No, I think that is exactly why he has a strength,” he said.
“He is not going to say mea culpa (it’s my fault), but he is going to say absolutely, if I can move on, then the whole country can move on and that is what we have to do.”
UK Prime Minister Liz Truss departs 10 Downing Street, London. Image: 12-10-2022. Image: PA Images / AlamyYesterday, Liz Truss announced her resignation after just 44 days as British Prime Minister.
The announcement has sparked a rushed Conservative Party leadership battle that is due to be complete within a week.
The frontrunners to replace Ms Truss are currently former Chancellor Rishi Sunak, Commons Leader Penny Mordaunt and her predecessor Boris Johnson; however, each will need the backing of at least 100 Tory MPs to run.
British Prime Minister Boris Johnson is seen during a gathering in Number 10 Downing Street on November 13th 2020. Picture by: Sue Gray report/© Crown copyrightShould Boris Johnson return to power, it will come three months and three weeks after he announced his resignation outside Downing Street.
Asked whether his son was wrong to resign when he did, Mr Johnson said: “I personally think a mountain was made out of a molehill, so you can draw your own conclusions from that.”
He claimed there are more important things to worry about than the COVID breaches which were partly responsible for his son’s fall from grace within the Tory party.
“What has happened over the last few weeks is that the economy has crashed and it has crashed because of some miscalculations,” he said.
“So, these are serious, serious issues and I, personally, am not ready to spend a lot of time arguing about whether or not having a glass of champagne two months or less than two months after he came out of hospital on his birthday – and I wasn’t even invited so I am not sure how much of a party it was – so I’m not going to spend a lot of time on that.”
Resignation
Boris Johnson announced his resignation in July after more than 50 of his own ministers resigned in protest over his leadership.
It followed months of controversy over COVID parties in Downing Street and the revelations that he had been claiming he knew nothing about allegations of inappropriate behaviour against former Tory MP Chris Pincher, even though he was informed about them in 2019.
