Boris Johnson told the House of Commons that “nothing and no one” will stop him carrying on as Prime Minister after facing down a no confidence vote on Monday night.
In a fiery clash with Sir Keir Starmer at Prime Minister’s Questions, Mr Johnson insisted he was “getting on with the job” following a revolt among his own MPs.
But Sir Keir mocked Mr Johnson’s damaged standing among his own MPs, saying he was not sure whether he had heard “cheers or boos” from the Tory benches as he took to the despatch box.
Although Mr Johnson survived, by 211 votes to 148, critics warned that he had been severely wounded by the scale of the rebellion and could be gone before the end of the year.
After Mr Johnson insisted on Tuesday it remained a “fundamental Conservative instinct” to cut taxes, Chancellor Rishi Sunak used a speech to the Onward think tank to reaffirm his intention to reduce taxes for business in the autumn.
It followed a call from former Brexit minister Lord Frost for previously announced rises to national insurance and corporation tax to be reversed, warning they were “not Conservative” and were “undermining growth and prosperity”.
His view that the Government needs to move on to a tax cutting agenda in order to shore up Mr Johnson’s leadership is reportedly shared by some in the Cabinet.
Meanwhile, The Daily Telegraph reported that allies of the Prime Minister were urging him to replace Mr Sunak with former foreign secretary Jeremy Hunt - who was runner-up to Mr Johnson in the 2019 leadership election and is expected to stand again if there is another contest.
