When British Prime Minister Boris Johnson announced his resignation in July, it wasn’t by choice. As leader of the ruling Conservative Party, Johnson must maintain the confidence of the Parliamentary Conservative Party (PCP) – the 357 elected Conservative members of Parliament – to remain as leader of the party and, in turn, Prime Minister of the United Kingdom.
Following a series of press-hyped scandals, including “Partygate” and news that the Prime Minister wasn’t being honest when he claimed he didn’t have knowledge of a senior party official groping two men, it became clear that Johnson could not command control of his own party and was forced to announce his resignation.
The announcement triggered a leadership election within the party, which allowed the PCP and party members to elect a new leader and prime minister. While the PCP felt compelled to act on the scandals, however, the general public and, more importantly, the Conservative Party members didn’t agree. Winning the biggest Conservative majority since Thatcher arguably gave Johnson more wiggle room with scandals than most prime ministers, and while the PCP felt his position had become untenable, members and some high-profile Conservative figures and donors don’t agree.
Among those high-profile figures is Lord Cruddas, a British businessman and one of the Conservative Party’s most important donors. Lord Cruddas has spent the last two months campaigning to change the way the party removes its leaders, to empower the members, and give voters a chance to reject Johnson’s resignation and allow him to remain as prime minister to fight the 2025 General Election.
In mid-July, Cruddas refused to hand over £500,000 in donations to the party unless Johnson was given an opportunity to remain as prime minister, and has since championed a “Boris Ballot” campaign that has seen more than 20,000 Conservative Party members sign a petition and lobby the 1922 Committee – an 18-member parliamentary executive committee that oversees party elections – to put Johnson on the ballot and let members decide whether or not he should stay.
But from July 22, following a series of run-off votes by the PCP, party members were mailed ballots giving them a choice between the final two candidates to replace Johnson – Rishi Sunak and Liz Truss. Those ballots are already being returned, the hustings (debates) continue, and the election is due to come to a close at the beginning of September.
With that in mind, 19FortyFive spoke to Lord Cruddas about where the campaign stands, and whether it is too late for Johnson to be put on the ballot.
“It is not too late to have a Boris ballot as this would be separate from the current leadership campaign,” Lord Cruddas told 19FortyFive, adding that the campaign is seeking a simple yes or no ballot on Johnson’s resignation.
It means that existing ballots would not need to be changed, and if the membership vote for Johnson to stay, the ballots already sent to members in the post would be void.
Can Johnson Make It Happen?
If it’s not too late to make it happen, then how can it happen?
Lord Cruddas tells 19FortyFive that Johnson himself has the power to make the changes to the way the party makes decisions, giving the voters a chance to reject his resignation.
“Boris could sack the board and appoint a new chairman,” he said, adding that he is willing to take on the position of chairman while the necessary reforms are made. Under new leadership, the Conservative Party Board, which is the national governing boy of the party, would put the wheels in motion for a ballot to be issued to members.
UK PM Boris Johnson discussing COVD-19. Image: Creative Commons.
“The board has the constitutional power to put Boris on the ballot,” Lord Cruddas tells us. “It is free to do anything that is for the good of the party.”
While Johnson would almost certainly receive criticism from political opponents for using his power to maintain his power, it’s hard to ignore the fact that making this bold decision would be an effort to empower the members to make a decision. Johnson himself cannot simply decide to stay on, but can instead devolve more power to the membership and strip power from the PCP.
Polls repeatedly show that Johnson would be in a good position to do this, too. In July, an Opinium poll commissioned by Channel Four News found that 51% of Conservative Party members thought Johnson should not have resigned, and just 36% wanted him out. The decision was also described by renowned conservative think tank Bruges Group as “utterly damning.”
“Perhaps party members should have been consulted before the regicide,” a tweet from the think tank reads. “The voice of the party faithful has been ignored shamelessly.”
A YouGov poll published in late July also revealed that 46% of people who voted Conservative in 2019 – not the members themselves, but the people who voted for the party in the general election – want the prime minister to stay on, too.
Lord Cruddas also stressed the significance of the Boris Ballot petition.
“Over 20,000 have signed our petition and in recent polls Boris polls half the membership to be leader,” he said. “The other two [Sunak and Truss[ barely get to 25 percent.”
Will Johnson Do It?
Only time will tell if Johnson will do what’s necessary to stay in power, but time is also running out. The final ballot ends on September 2, with the results being announced on September 5. That gives Johnson less than two weeks to sack the chair of the board, appoint somebody new, and send out a new ballot to the members.
Lord Cruddas remains hopeful that it could happen and told 19FortyFive that he would be willing to pay for the entire election process – including the ongoing Sunak/Truss election – if Johnson goes ahead with the plan.
“I will pay for this Boris ballot, and if the Boris resignation is rejected, then Boris stays as PM and I will pay for both ballots whether Boris stays or goes,” he said, adding that he does not recognize the legitimacy of the current election and will not be taking part in it.
“I have no interest in the leadership campaign. I do not recognise it and I will not be voting,” the Conservative peer told 19FortyFive.
Lord Cruddas was uncertain whether Johnson will do what it takes to remain in 10 Downing Street, but told 19FortyFive that his campaign was about much more than Boris Johnson, but about the fairness of the system as a whole.
22/09/2020. London, United Kingdom. Boris Johnson address to the Nation during Covid-19. The Prime Minister Boris Johnson in the White Room of No10 Downing Street, addressing the Nation on Covid-19. Picture by Andrew Parsons / No 10 Downing Street
“Boris was removed by a small cabal of MPS who have the power to change our leader, when it should be for the members and the electorate,” he said.
“Boris wants to stay on as leader but will not get involved with Party issues. But my campaign is not just about Boris, it is about the undemocratic way he was removed. This can never happen again. We need to change the constitution and take power from a small cabal of MPs on the 1922 Committee who effectively constructively removed our PM without referral to the members.”
The chances appear slim that Johnson will take the radical action necessary within the next two weeks to empower the members and keep his leadership position. If he doesn’t, whoever is declared the new party leader and prime minister on September 5 could be wise to heed Lord Cruddas’ warning – or potentially face the same fate as Johnson.
Jack Buckby is a British author, counter-extremism researcher, and journalist based in New York. Reporting on the U.K., Europe, and the U.S., he works to analyze and understand left-wing and right-wing radicalization, and reports on Western governments’ approaches to the pressing issues of today. His books and research papers explore these themes and propose pragmatic solutions to our increasingly polarized society.
