Boris Johnson facing 'greater level of rejection' than any other Tory leader, William Hague says

Boris Johnson is facing a “greater level of rejection” than any other Tory leader and should “turn his mind” to leaving the job, according to Yorkshire party grandee William Hague.

Former party leader Lord Hague wrote in the Times today that the Prime Minister “should recognise” the scale of the issues he faces, after 148 of his MPs voted yesterday to say that they have no confidence in him.

In total, 211 said that they backed him.

“While Johnson has survived the night, the damage done to his premiership is severe,” he wrote in the newspaper.

File photo dated 15/12/14 of The Houses of Parliament, central LondonFile photo dated 15/12/14 of The Houses of Parliament, central London
File photo dated 15/12/14 of The Houses of Parliament, central London
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“Words have been said that cannot be retracted, reports published that cannot be erased, and votes have been cast that show a greater level of rejection than any Tory leader has ever endured and survived.

“Deep inside, he should recognise that, and turn his mind to getting out in a way that spares party and country such agonies and uncertainties.”

Lord Hague noted he did not face a confidence vote while leader of the opposition from 1997 to 2001, but added he “would have regarded my position as completely untenable if more than a third of my MPs had ever voted against me”.

“The nature of this particular revolt makes it qualitatively as well as quantitatively devastating,” he wrote.

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“A fairly narrow victory for Boris Johnson is not the defeat of a rival faction, or the squashing of an alternative candidate, but rather the fending-off of a gathering feeling of hopelessness.

“It is less likely to prove a turning point than a way marker on an exhausting road to further crises of confidence.

“That is the worst possible result from the Conservative Party’s point of view. Logically, they should either reconcile themselves to Johnson and get behind him, or decisively eject him and move on to a new leader. It does not seem they have done either.”