Grassroots Tories want the Boris of old back

The volume went up on disquiet in Tory circles this week when one of Boris Johnson’s allies broke ranks to criticise his administration. Tim Montgomerie delivered what the New Statesman described as a “devastating indictment of the Prime Minister,” attacking No 10 for “greeting internal dissent with retribution”, “short cutting proper processes”, and letting an 80-seat majority “go to their heads”.

Downing Street, he argued, had become Dominic Cummings’s “frat house”, warning that the PM’S refusal to fire his chief adviser had caused Tory MPS to lose faith. Coming from the founder of the Conservative Home website, it was stinging stuff.

But possibly more surprising was the reaction from those who still stalwartly support the PM. “What worries them most is not that he might have read it, but that he might not,” said one.

Having seen him at death’s door with coronavirus, there is no doubt that despite the criticism, Tories are sympathetic to Mr Johnson’s plight. They are concerned not just for his health – amid talk of continued breathlessness, midday naps and a lack of attentiveness – but how uneasy he appears in office.

While accepting Covid-19 “changed everything” after he won his landslide – thinking the main issue would be “getting Brexit done” – those who know the PM best speak sorrowfully of a political giant “overshadowed by the failings of his team”.

According to a former aide: “Boris is a prisoner. The level of control freakery in there just doesn’t make for effective government. If it was a sunny uplands Boris, then it wouldn’t matter – but we’re facing the worst economic hit, with millions unemployed. He’s got to realise that Dom is running rampant, out of control.”

A senior Tory MP added: “He’s being let down by the team around him. They didn’t take the threat of coronavirus seriously from the start. Brexit took their eye off the ball. No 10 didn’t pay attention. The very people who are the problem are the ones advising him.”

Someone famously said of Gordon Brown, “once a control freak loses control, all you are left with is a freak”, and since Cummings’s Durham debacle, criticism has become increasingly vocal.

He arrived in Downing Street “feared and revered” but after Barnard Castle many question whether the man David Cameron described as a “career psychopath” really has the PM’S best interests at heart.

A former aide said allies had grown suspicious of how quickly Cummings pushed out the experienced old guard to surround Mr Johnson with his own acolytes. Sir Eddie Lister, Mr Johnson’s chief of staff, who worked with him at City Hall, is described as “marginalised by Cummings” and “Awol”.

The aide added: “No Vote Leaver really knew Boris. It was depressing to see how quickly they surrounded him. I can’t countenance the Boris I know approving of the behaviour we’ve seen in No10 – the misogyny, the bullying.”

Another suggested Cummings had engendered a culture of paranoia around his own importance to the operation. “He goes around saying if he goes then The Blob – the Civil Service – will take over. It’s nonsense.

“He isn’t the only one who can get Brexit done. If you leave [David] Frost to it, he’ll get it done. Cummings isn’t a negotiator.” Patience is also running out among those Cummings makes no secret of despising. They blame him for centralising No10 and still smart over his “supine” Cabinet appointments.

A senior Tory said: “How many would have made it into a Thatcher Cabinet? – a very round number.”

Another Tory MP said Cummings served only to “shine a spotlight on the dysfunctionality” at No 10. “Apparently, when Cummings was off sick for two weeks, people said ‘we can breathe; we can work without fear of being sacked’.

“Cummings has made Downing Street a toxic environment. That level of uber control doesn’t sit well with our conventional principles. We have to recognise there is now a real opposition led by Starmer. We mustn’t forget what happened to Churchill now we are on a similar war footing.”

There is also anger about the credit Cummings appears to have taken for a general election campaign that was largely spearheaded by Isaac Levido.

“When he’s on form, no one can beat Boris,” said one Tory. “MPS and voters supported Boris, not Cummings.

“We want a return of the Boris we know and love. Instead, we have the effects of his illness compounded by the maniac at his side.” Tory grassroots also clamour for the Boris of old, not least in light of the recent protests. John Strafford, of the Conservative Campaign for Democracy, said: “Their patience is beginning to run out. Everyone is frustrated at the lack of action at the heart of the Government. We want them to scrap the two-metre rule for starters.” Pointing out support for Priti Patel among the membership, he added: “People question why the Government isn’t taking a harder line.”

A senior Tory added: “The public are p----d off with what’s happening to the statues, to Fawlty Towers – backing Priti would have been a good way of signalling he understands them.”

The lack of female experience at No10 is cited as a reason for what appear to have been a string of family unfriendly decisions during the outbreak, with Downing Street accused of ignoring childcare needs. But could Mr Johnson’s own domestic arrangements be playing a part? Having become a father again, the PM is trying to balance an unprecedented national emergency and parental duty.

Said one source: “When he’s not in No10, Carrie wants him with her. She’s suspicious of what he’s doing. He’s in a demanding relationship, which puts pressure on him. When he was with Marina it wasn’t like that.”

Montgomerie suggested the absence of ex-wife Marina Wheeler may have affected him. A former aide said: “Marina was, no doubt, his intellectual underpinning and hinterland.”

There is a sense Ms Wheeler would never have allowed him to become so reliant on Cummings. It is hoped the appointment of the experienced civil servant Simon Case as the new Permanent Secretary will make No10 “less Cummings-contingent”.

Said an aide: “Boris isn’t being honest with himself if he thinks Durham was a Mirror and Guardian conspiracy – of course it wasn’t.

“Every world leader except Boris and Trump said, ‘We made mistakes.’ That’s not good company to be in.

“I don’t think he likes criticism – but those giving it are doing so because they want him to succeed. He needs to realise losing the trust of a party with an 80-seat majority will be fatal.”

It is too early to write him off just six months into his premiership – his bounce-back factor is unparalleled – and the pandemic may have brought his election honeymoon to an abrupt halt, but he always rises to a challenge.

Once restored to full health, we will benefit from his optimism and patriotism as the UK embarks on its biggest economic recovery mission since the Second World War.

‘Cummings has made No10 a toxic environment. That level of control doesn’t sit well with our principles’