Boris Johnson looks to shore up vote with ‘red meat’ policies on Brexit and benefits, again

The Prime Minister’s closest aides have been leading outreach to Eurosceptic MPs in order to keep their support

Prime Minister Boris Johnson at the G7 summit in Bavaria this weekend (AP Photo/Markus Schreiber, Pool) Photographer: Markus Schreiber Provider: AP Source: Pool AP Copyright: Copyright 2022 The Associated Press. All rights reserved

By Hugo GyePolitical Editor

Boris Johnson will this week attempt to shore up his Conservative support with a string of policies aimed at winning back MPs and Tory voters following damaging by-election defeats.

The Prime Minister is set to announce new tariffs on foreign steel, a move designed to protect industry in “red wall” constituencies across the North of England.

And on Monday, MPs will vote for the first time on plans to rewrite the Brexit deal in order to remove checks on goods going in to Northern Ireland – a plan strongly opposed by Brussels.

The Government has also promised a crackdown on benefits claimants, with more people forced to pay regular visits to job centres in order to keep receiving state payments.

The string of policy announcements echoes Mr Johnson’s previous attempts to woo backbench MPs following damaging revelations about Downing Street lockdown parties, dubbed ‘Operation Red Meat’.

Mr Johnson is out of the country until Thursday, attending the G7 summit in Bavaria and a Nato meeting in Madrid – sparking concern among allies that the plot against his leadership may step up in his absence.

But Government insiders believe that his strategy of reinforcing his core vote, particularly among Leave-voting MPs who have largely remained loyal to him so far, will hold off any further challenge.

Downing Street is prioritising relations with the pro-Brexit European Research Group, with deputy chief of staff David Canzini leading the outreach efforts along with spin chief Guto Harri since they both entered No 10 earlier this year.

A source told i: “We were worried that Guto wouldn’t get on with the ERG because his views are very different to theirs, but he met with them straight away.” Mr Johnson’s first two chiefs of staff, Dominic Cummings and Dan Rosenfield, never agreed to meet with the group during their time in power, the source said.

The Northern Ireland Protocol Bill which has its second reading in the House of Commons on Monday is backed by most Tory Brexiteers, although some of the party’s centrist MPs may vote against it.

A source close to Foreign Secretary Liz Truss defended the bill’s aggressive approach, saying: “The Protocol is causing huge problems in Northern Ireland and threatening the Belfast Good Friday Agreement, but the EU are still refusing to change the Protocol itself – therefore we have to act.”

Speaking in Germany, Mr Johnson insisted that Brexit had already brought benefits to the UK despite the economic damage from leaving the EU. He told CNN: “We have been able to do a lot of free trade deals around the world. And we are able to change some of our regulations to take back control of our borders.”

Later this week the Government is set to confirm plans to extend tariffs on steel imports to protect British industry, which is likely to be a breach of international law. The proposal prompted the resignation of ethics adviser Lord Geidt.

The Prime Minister said: “I think it is reasonable for UK steel to have the same protections that absolutely every other European steel economy does.” He added: “The difficulty is, is that possible to do while staying within our WTO, our World Trade Organisation obligations? That’s the problem. But these are tough choices that you have to make.”

Tom Tugendhat, the chair of the Commons foreign affairs committee who is thought to be preparing a leadership bid, hit out at the policy saying: “Protectionism is destructive to all of us. Tariffs are un-Conservative because they’re a tax on consumers.”