Cabinet minister Grant Shapps insisted the world has moved on from Boris Johnson following the former prime minister’s surprising resignation as an MP.
The Energy Secretary tried to prevent damage to the Government from the departure of three Conservative MPs, including Boris Johnson, from Parliament in recent days.
Grant Shapps praised the ex-Tory leader’s many qualities but stressed there were now different challenges to face and there was new management in No 10 under Rishi Sunak.
He also took a swipe at Boris Johnson for having removed himself from politics by leaving the House of Commons and also claimed the ex-PM was sometimes not entirely across the details of matters.
Yet Grant Shapps refused to rule out a political comeback for Boris Johnson who was pictured giving a thumbs up as he went for a morning jog with his dog Dilyn, admitting he would never predict the ex-PM’s actions.
Supporters of Boris Johnson have been predicting a quick return for the ex-premier, including before the next general election, despite his tumultuous exit from the Commons.
But ex-Tory deputy prime minister Lord Heseltine has demanded Boris Johnson be barred from ever standing for election as a Conservative MP again.
Boris Johnson resigned from Parliament over Partygate and a row over his peerages list.
He delivered brutal aggression on a kangaroo court of MPs investigating his denials of COVID rule-breaking and also savaged the direction of Rishi Sunak’s Government.
Nadine Dorries and Nigel Adams, who are both staunch supporters of Boris Johnson, have also resigned as MPs in what has been seen as an endeavour to destabilise Rishi Sunak’s administration.
Grant Shapps attempted to palliate the impact of the trio of resignations on Government and repudiated suggestions Boris Johnson had been pushed out of Parliament by the establishment.
The Energy Secretary told Sky News that Boris was somebody with many qualities but they were now in a world where there were different challenges to face and that they have got new management in No 10.
He said that actually in the end Boris was perfectly entitled to remain as an MP, but that he had decided to step down and a couple of other colleagues, all of them whom he’s worked with and Boris in particular, and that he liked working with him as a prime minister, but that the world had moved on, and that he was the one who removed himself from the current political scene, standing down as a member of Parliament.
Whenever I read about Boris Johnson on his morning run, it always makes me think his car’s parked just around the corner, along with his personal bodyguard.
It kind of reminds you of Eddie in ‘Absolutely Fabulous’ who arrives back after a run, claiming to have run miles, but in actual fact, she ran just around the block. Boris must eat and drink a lot of calories to keep that size after such a supposed workout. Perhaps he was on a morning run to Gregg’s because he’s the only guy I know who puts weight on from jogging.
Rishi Sunak wants rid of the right and Sir Keir Starmer wants rid of the left and all we get is a choice between two wealthy deluded comedians, and nobody appears to know what they stand for, and after all this time of Tory anarchy, it’s definitely time for Labour to have a go, but what’s more noteworthy is that we need a party that serves the taxpayer instead of all these self-serving cronies.
THE MONTHLY MOSQUITO 