Boris Johnson insisted now is not the time to quit as U.K. prime minister, even as resignations from his government continued to mount and Conservative MPs pressed ahead with a plan to remove him.
Speaking in the House of Commons in front of stony-faced Tory MPs Wednesday, Johnson argued it is “exactly when times are tough” that his government should press on.
“The job of a prime minister in difficult circumstances, when he’s been handed a colossal mandate, is to keep going and that’s what I’m going to do,” Johnson said, when challenged by his own MPs on what exactly would prompt him to quit.
As of lunchtime Wednesday, he had been hit by more than 15 resignations in less than 24 hours.
While Johnson is insisting he will fight on, and has moved to replace the key posts of chancellor and health secretary vacated by Rishi Sunak and Javid respectively, he faces a renewed threat from his own MPs.
Johnson cannot currently be challenged by his own MPs for a year as he won a confidence vote last month, but that could change if the 1922 committee of backbench Conservative lawmakers, meeting 4 p.m. U.K. time on Wednesday evening, opts to change party rules.
Johnson’s spokesperson told reporters Wednesday that the prime minister remained confident he had the support of his own MPs - and that believed he would win a fresh confidence vote.
