Boris Johnson will delay his cabinet reshuffle until autumn, after allies warned him not to destabilise the government further after last week’s by-election defeats.
The prime minister had been expected to reshuffle his team before parliament goes into recess next month in an attempt to refocus his premiership.
Three cabinet ministers – environment secretary George Eustice, business secretary Kwasi Kwarteng and trade secretary Anne-Marie Trevelyan – were said to be vulnerable.
Johnson has now said he wants more time to think through the reshuffle, prompting some senior Tories to say the reshuffle will be postponed indefinitely.
The prime minister has also attempted to defuse criticism from backbenchers after suggesting that he wants to stay on as prime minister until the 2030s. At the weekend the prime minister suggested that he wanted a third term in office, a day after the Tories lost Tiverton & Honiton in Devon and Wakefield in West Yorkshire.
Johnson said the record of his government was “remarkable” and “quite exceptional”.
