Dominic Raab: Johnson not losing his grip and is ‘on great form’
Dominic Raab has been forced to insist Boris Johnson is not losing his grip on the Tory party and that he is “on great form”, after being widely criticised for a bizarre speech at the Confederation of British Industry (CBI) this week.
The deputy prime minister and justice secretary said Johnson’s speech at the CBI, where he lost his place for 20 seconds and referenced Peppa Pig World at length, was an example of the Prime Minister being “ebullient”.
Johnson’s performance spurred on Labour leader Sir Keir Starmer to ask the Prime Minister mockingly at Prime Minister’s Questions: “Is everything okay, Prime Minister?”
The speech comes after Johnson’s relations with Tory backbenchers had already become strained in recent weeks in the wake of a series of gaffes and scandals.
Johnson held a drinks reception with Tory MPs that were first elected in the 2015 and 2017 elections last night in a bid to improve faltering relations with his backbenchers.
There has also been some discord within Downing Street, after someone briefed to the BBC on Monday that Johnson’s premiership was “not working”.
Speaking to the BBC, Raab said: “The reality is people speak about speeches in the Westminster village, the gossip and all the rest of it.
“It’s the job of Westminster commentators to pick up on one anonymous source from wherever they found it to criticise the government of the day – that’s fine.”
He also said that the Prime Minister’s “ebullient, bouncy, optimistic, Tiggerish character” serves to “livens up” speeches.
Liberal Democrat deputy leader Daisy Cooper said: “Boris Johnson and his Conservatives have shown themselves to be completely out of touch, and the PM’s bizarre ramblings about Peppa Pig were just the icing on the cake. They really need to get a grip.”