Boris Johnson faces Tory unease on multiple fronts

Still reeling from the self-inflicted wounds over the botched attempt to prevent Owen Paterson’s suspension from the Commons – despite having been found to have breached lobbying rules – No 10 officials and Boris Johnson have faced a torrid fortnight.

The audacious bid to create a Tory-dominated committee to review sleaze rules, which was branded government “corruption” by opposition parties, resulted in a humiliating U-turn less than 24 hours after Conservative MPs were ordered to vote with the government.

Division in the party’s ranks burst into the open, culminating two weeks later, on Wednesday evening, with the prime minister offering a mea culpa to the 1922 Committee of backbench Tory MPs.

Just moments after admitting his “mistake” during a grilling at the Liaison Committee a contrite prime minister told colleagues over the Paterson row, which kickstarted days of sleaze allegations: “On a clear road I crashed a car into a ditch”.

However, he was also said to have promised them the “difficulties will pass”, in comments designed to reassure disgruntled backbenchers, who are growing increasingly nervous over the Conservatives’ sliding position in the polls to a level pegging with Labour.

But beyond the toxic row over sleaze in politics, the prime minister is also facing unease from backbenchers on a number of other fronts alongside the backdrop of rising inflation threatening to squeeze living standards for the country’s most vulnerable people.

Unveiling the long-awaited review for rejuvenating the rail networks, No 10 faced a severe backlash this week after it emerged plans had been scaled back on pledges to build the HS3 line, between Manchester and Leeds, and the eastern leg of HS2, serving the Midlands and Yorkshire.

While Labour’s Sir Keir Starmer seized on the downgraded plans as a “second class option” there was also criticism from some Conservative quarters, with one of the most withering comments from the Tory chair of the Commons Transport Committee.

“This is the danger in selling perpetual sunlight and leaving the others to explain the arrival of moonlight,” Huw Merriman said, suggesting voters had been led to expect more from the prime minister. The former chancellor George Osborne also said the plans demonstrated a lack of “ambition” from Mr Johnson, and predicted a U-turn ahead of the next general election due to the marginal seats around Bradford and Leeds.

On another front, ministers are also braced for a backlash from so-called Red Wall Tory MPs – elected in 2019 – over plans to water down a proposed cap on social care costs for the elderly that were criticised by the expert Sir Andrew Dilnot in parliament this week.

Former Conservative minister Mel Stride has demanded the government produce a full break-down of the changes to the scheme on different regions of the country amid warnings that poorer pensioners will lose out from the scheme, compared with previous plans drawn up. The row is set to come to ahead this week when the Health and Social Care Bill returns to the Commons and fireworks could be in store.

Mr Johnson has faced a torrid two weeks, but the prime minister will have to offer his backbenchers more than a mea culpa if he is to stem the unrest among Tory MPs.