‘Worst of both worlds’ Lord Archer fears Tories ‘left in no man’s land’ after Boris vote

Jeffrey Archer calls no confidence result 'worst of both worlds'

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Lord Archer fears the no-confidence vote result on Monday evening which saw Boris Johnson hold onto power is the “worst of both worlds,” as the Prime Minister continues to face considerable opposition from rebel Tories. Lord Archer believes the lack of a clear result either was has left the Conservatives in a “no man’s land” from which they might struggle to escape. 

Lord Archer told TalkTV’s Tom Newton-Dunn: “The result yesterday was the worst of both worlds because I would have liked a clean victory for the Prime Minister or a loss so we could move on.

“This in-between has put us in no man’s land and the only people who will benefit from that is the Labour Party.”

Asked how the Conservative Party could move on from the vote, the author added: “I’m not sure at the moment, there is a way out because actually, we are also at the same time facing massive problems all over the world that we know about. 

“And it will take a very strong prime minister and a very strong cabinet to get through those if these were easier times. 

“Mind you, if they were easier times he might have had a better vote.”

Conservative MPs remain divided over Mr Johnson’s premiership in the aftermath of the confidence motion against him, and some are still calling for him to resign.

The Prime Minister won 211 votes on Monday night, but a significant minority of 148 Tory MPs voted to usurp him and several have said his days in the role are now numbered.

Following the vote, Andrew Bridgen said Mr Johnson should “now leave with honour”.

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The North West Leicestershire MP shared an article by former Tory leader Lord Hague which said Mr Johnson has experienced a “greater level of rejection” than any of his predecessors and should quit.

Writing on Twitter, Mr Bridgen said: “Lord Hague is right. The residual concerns from across the party will continue to remain.

“Last night’s vote is worse in percentage terms than that suffered by Mrs May and on a par with Heseltine’s challenge against Mrs Thatcher.

“The Prime Minister should now leave with honour and residual affection for what he has achieved.”

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Sir Roger Gale, an outspoken critic of Mr Johnson, agreed that he should not take the party into the next general election.

Speaking to Sky News, the North Thanet MP highlighted that “over a third of the parliamentary party has expressed no confidence in the Prime Minister”.

Asked if he thinks Mr Johnson should continue as Prime Minister, he said: “No, I’ve expressed my view very clearly. I don’t believe that he should take the party into the next general election, and I think there are other elephant traps down the road – two by-elections coming up, the Privileges Committee report in the autumn.

“There are a lot of hurdles ahead and I think a Prime Minister of honour would look at the figures, accept the fact that he has lost the support of a significant proportion of his party and consider his position, but I don’t think he’ll do that.”

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