The chair of the 1922 committee of Conservative Party backbenchers has said it is possible that rules could be changed to allow a fresh challenge to Boris Johnson within a year.
The secretive committee’s current rules mean the prime minister is safe from another no-confidence vote for another 12 months, after narrowly winning a ballot among Tory MPs earlier this week.
Sir Graham Brady said there were no plans or discussions on the 1922 executive about amending those regulations, saying they were “likely” to remain, though he opened the door by conceding that changes were “possible” in future.
“It’s not something that we as an executive have discussed at all in this parliament,” he told Times Radio. “There was a point in the previous parliament when those discussions took place at length. We ended up without changing the rule.”
The 1922 chair said: “Of course, it is technically possible that laws can be changed in the future. And it’s possible that rules can be changed in the future.”
Sir Graham added: “But I think it’s important we say the rule that is in place, and is likely to remain in place, is that there is a year’s period of grace following a confidence vote.”
Speculation has been rife that rebel Tories could push for a change in the year-long grace period if opposition to Mr Johnson in the party grows even larger, after 148 of his own MPs – 41 per cent – voted to remove him from No 10.
Aaron Bell, a “red-wall” Tory elected in 2019 who voted against the PM, gave Mr Johnson a year to turn things round – but did not rule out colleagues calling on the 1922 committee to alter the rules.
“The rules say he has 12 months. I think that’s a fair assessment of the amount of time that he’s got to convince people that he can turn this round,” Mr Bell told ITV’s Peston on Wednesday night.
Former Brexit minister David Davis said Mr Johnson could be deposed in a wider Commons vote later this year if a privileges committee inquiry finds that he misled parliament.
“If that happened, I suspect there would be big, big debates in the house, ending up with a vote on his ability to continue his tenure as prime minister,” he told GB News on Thursday. “But let’s wait and see how it plays out.”
Ex-Tory chancellor Philip Hammond said on Thursday that Mr Johnson was doomed to be ousted by his own party before the next general election.
The ex-cabinet minister said “the writing is on the wall” for the prime minister and predicted his authority would “ebb away” over the next few months.
“I don’t think he will lead the party into the next general election. I think a rebellion on this scale is very difficult to survive,” Mr Hammond told Bloomberg.
Former Conservative leader William Hague has described Mr Johnson’s position as “unsustainable”. He argued earlier this week that there had been a collapse in trust over the Partygate scandal that “almost certainly cannot be repaired”.
But cabinet minister Michael Gove said on Thursday that he still “enthusiastically” supported the PM, saying Mr Johnson was doing a “good job” and it was a “privilege” to work alongside him.
