Analysis-A change of style? UK's Johnson fights for political survival
Send a link to a friend
[February 03, 2022]
By Elizabeth Piper
LONDON (Reuters) - British Prime Minister
Boris Johnson has promised to shake up operations in his 10 Downing
Street office to try to survive his gravest crisis yet over boozy events
held at the heart of power during COVID-19 lockdowns.
Key to the organisational changes is a promise he made on Monday to
lawmakers from his Conservative Party at a meeting in parliament to turn
to Lynton Crosby, an Australian political strategist who has helped him
before and is respected by many Conservative lawmakers, as an ad hoc
"strategic adviser".
Johnson then reaffirmed his commitment to one of the promises that got
him elected in 2019 - "levelling up" Britain to reduce chronic
inequality between the affluent south of England and the more deprived
north, which was welcomed more widely than expected.
Johnson has sent a clear signal: he is betting on a change of style
targeting his administration rather than a change of substance to get
through the scandal over alleged staff parties at No. 10 while the
country was under lockdown to help curb the spread of COVID-19.
"He needs to start delivering so people start feeling the benefit," one
veteran Conservative said on condition of anonymity. "Just get stuff
done."
Another who attended the meeting said: "The penny has dropped." They
said Johnson seemed to have finally understood that for many lawmakers,
Downing Street felt remote, handing down orders without listening to
other opinions in the party.
![](http://archives.lincolndailynews.com/2022/Feb/03/images/ads/current/atlantaNB_lda_HFH_2021.png)
Since becoming prime minister in July 2019, Johnson has taken Britain
out of the European Union and led it through the COVID-19 pandemic. He
has also proved gaffe-prone and is now facing calls to resign, including
from some Conservatives.
He is not out of the woods. After a failed rebellion by newer lawmakers
fizzled out last month, he is now seeing a steady stream of more senior
Conservatives announcing they are calling for him to go.
After the release of an initial report into the lockdown events by
senior civil servant Sue Gray that cited "serious failures of
leadership", and London police launched their own investigation into the
reported parties, Johnson addressed worried Conservative lawmakers
packed into a room in parliament.
The prime minister apologised, joked, acknowledged making mistakes and
promised changes to his administration, four of the lawmakers who
attended Monday's meeting told Reuters.
He accepted that his team in Downing Street needed to be more inclusive,
his cabinet team of top ministers strengthened and that he had to be
more accessible to lawmakers, many of whom have questioned whether he
even knew their names, they said.
[to top of second column]
|
![](../images/020322pics/news_u75.jpg)
British Prime Minister Boris Johnson walks outside 10 Downing Street
in London, Britain, January 31, 2022. REUTERS/Henry Nicholls/File
Photo
![](http://archives.lincolndailynews.com/2022/Feb/03/images/ads/current/xamis_lda_LUAL_2016.png) 'STRATEGIC ADVICE'
Johnson now plans to create a new office of the prime minister, with
a permanent secretary to lead No. 10, and to review codes of conduct
for government workers.
Central to appeasing his lawmakers was Johnson's announcement that
Crosby "was going to be asked to give strategic advice", one of
those present said.
Crosby helped Johnson get elected mayor of London in 2008 and win a
second term four years later.
Crosby did not immediately respond to a Reuters email request for
comment about his plans, which lawmakers said might involve a member
of his team being brought on a more permanent basis into Downing
Street.
Crosby is seen as a man who can "focus and bring out the best
version of Boris", the veteran Conservative said, suggesting he
could help rebuild relations between Downing Street and restive
Conservative members of parliament.
Another said Crosby and his team would bring "the focus and the
discipline to deliver" on policy.
But Crosby also carries risks for Johnson. He has in the past drawn
fire over some of his campaign tactics and his return to favour will
not placate all Conservatives.
Johnson faces other dangers as well. Intensified scrutiny of his
actions will come when police complete their inquiry into the
alleged lockdown parties and when Gray's full report comes out, and
he is likely to be confronted by more calls to quit.
Aware of this, Johnson is seeking to reassure his party he will not
make any big policy changes to ride out the crisis, but instead,
when he can, return to be a tax-cutting, small-state Conservative -
after pushing through much criticised increases to some taxes to
tackle a health and social care crisis.
Johnson reinforced that message on Wednesday when his government set
out its flagship "levelling-up" plan, the extension of a campaign
pledge that helped the Conservatives win votes in longtime
opposition strongholds in 2019.
Johnson told parliament his government must now "get on with the
job". Doing so is vital to his own future.
(Reporting by Elizabeth Piper; Editing by Mark Heinrich)
[© 2022 Thomson Reuters. All rights
reserved.] This material may not be published,
broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
Thompson Reuters is solely responsible for this content.
![](http://archives.lincolndailynews.com/2022/Feb/03/images/ads/current/humanesociety_sda022411.png) |