William Hague urges Truss and Sunak to shove Boris out of politics altogether as new PM

Boris Johnson: Expert discusses resignation petition for PM

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Ex-leader of the Conservative party William Hague argued that while every PM appears to dislike their successor, it seems exceptionally true of Mr Johnson. He warned the leadership candidates that the PM may prove to be a thorn in their side due to his unwillingness to leave. The politically heavyweight last week threw his support behind Rishi Sunak, his successor as MP for Richmond, North Yorkshire, describing him as a “highly energetic, bright, emotionally intelligent candidate”.

Writing for the Times, Mr Hague said the “torment” of being booted out of No10 was “particularly severe if a PM believes they never did anything wrong — think Heath — or if they consider the electorate always backed them but their MPs were too weak to stick with them — think Thatcher.”

For Mr Johnson, Mr Hague said: “All these feelings will apply to him.

“He is going to be Heath with jokes added in, and Thatcher with consistency taken out, all rolled into a bundle of resentment, denial, attention-seeking and attempted vindication that will be a permanent nightmare for the new prime minister.”

According to the Telegraph Mr Johnson privately told Tory donor Lord Cruddas, who is spearheading a grassroots push to give members a vote on the PM’s resignation, that he “does not want to resign” and “wished he could carry on” in No 10 during a lunch at his Chequers residence. But, after the comments emerged, a No 10 spokesperson said the Prime Minister will leave the post in September when either Ms Truss or Mr Sunak are elected as Conservative leader.

The spokesman said: “The Prime Minister has resigned as party leader and set out his intention to stand down as PM when the new leader is in place.”

Education Secretary James Cleverly hinted to Sky News on Monday that Liz Truss may consider having Mr Johnson in her Cabinet if she wins.

He said it was “not for me” to decide, adding: “Whether he would want to serve after the bruising he’s got at the moment, that might be another matter, but it’s not for me to start dictating to Liz who she should put in her cabinet.”

However, Mr Hague warned that Ms Truss would still face the same issue of Mr Johnson’s continued presence if she became leader.

He said: “That he wants revenge on Rishi Sunak is already apparent, but if Liz Truss is elected, she will face the identical problem.

“The chances of her loyalty to him being repaid are close to zero.

“Boris lives his life as a performance, and he will want the next act to fill every seat in the theatre of British political life.”

Mr Hague urged the Conservative Party to remove Mr Johnson from office, adding: “His standards of governance and veracity had fallen below what reasonable people could defend.”

He went on to further slam the outgoing PM, saying: “Johnson might be near the bottom of the class of PMs in the reputation with which he leaves office, but he could be top of the class in the trouble he can cause afterwards.”

His comments come as Tory grandees pleaded with both campaigns to stop the fierce personal attacks – and warned the acrimony could cost the party the next election.

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Lord Fowler, who served under Margaret Thatcher and is now a crossbench peer, said the contest had been “extraordinarily divisive” and risked the Tories becoming the “nasty party” again.

“If I was to advise the Conservative Party to remember one thing it’s that a divided party simply doesn’t get elected,” he said.

Lord Lamont of Lerwick, a former chancellor who endorsed Mr Sunak, said: “They both ought to tell their followers to calm down a bit. I think it’s trivial and silly and is damaging the party.”

Conservative members will begin to receive their ballots next week for the final round of the contest. The next Prime Minister will be revealed on September 5.

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