Boris Johnson appeared to threaten to call a snap general election if Tory Members of Parliament (MPs) attempt to oust him.
In what would be an extraordinary last throw of the dice, the Prime Minister hinted he could go to the Queen if he was blocked from governing.
He gave the indication as he answered questions from the powerful liaison committee of senior backbench MPs.
Quizzed over whether he would consider a snap vote, the Prime Minister said: “The best way to have a period of stability and Government and not to have early elections is to allow people with mandates to get on”.
However, he added that governments could not solve problems by “threatening to call elections”.
Mr Johnson said: “If you got back to the 90s, then you don’t solve problems by threatening to call elections.”
“You have got to get on with what you’re elected to do.”
His comments have fuelled intense speculation in Westminster that the Conservative leader could go to the country in a bid to prove he still had the support of voters.
For weeks Tory whips have warned backbench MPs that Mr Johnson will call a vote to seek a new mandate if they turned on him.
They had threatened to de-select critics of the incumbent in No10 in order to elect a new slate of Tory MPs who supported his leadership.
“I’ve already been told they’re looking to remove the whip from me,” one rebel told Express.co.uk.
“They want any excuse to kick me out right now.”
Boris Johnson is British Prime Minister. He took office on July 24, 2019. The Eurosceptic has been MP for Uxbridge and South Ruislip since 2015 and served as London Mayor from 2008 to 2016. He became Foreign Secretary under Theresa May but resigned in protest at the former PM’s approach to Brexit.
Two of the United Kingdom’s most senior ministers have resigned from the cabinet in the latest blow to Prime Minister Boris Johnson’s leadership.
Health Minister, Sajid Javid, and Finance Minister, Rishi Sunak, announced their resignations within minutes of each other on Tuesday, plunging Johnson’s government into crisis weeks after the prime minister survived a no-confidence vote. –BBC/Aljazeera
