Boris Johnson must reset his Government along traditional Conservative lines if he is to avoid defeat at the next General Election, his former Cabinet Minister Lord Frost warns today.
In his first interview since his sensational resignation as Brexit Minister last month, Lord Frost calls on Mr Johnson to revitalise the country with 'free markets, free debate and low taxes' and to 'set the direction of travel' to appeal to ordinary voters.
He says that the course change is essential for the party 'if we're going to get out of this little trough and win the Election in a couple of years' time'.
Lord Frost quit the Government in December after becoming disillusioned with Mr Johnson over Covid restrictions, tax rises and 'net zero' green policies.
A despairing Prime Minister had persuaded his ally to keep the resignation quiet until January, when he hoped it would inflict less damage on an administration that was at the time battling claims Downing Street parties had breached Covid rules.
But the plan was scuppered when the MoS revealed his resignation shortly before Christmas, triggering a late-night exchange of letters and Lord Frost's immediate exit from the Government.
In his first interview since his sensational resignation as Brexit Minister last month, Lord Frost calls on Mr Johnson to revitalise the country with 'free markets, free debate and low taxes' and to 'set the direction of travel' to appeal to ordinary voters
A despairing Prime Minister had persuaded ally Lord Frost to keep the resignation quiet until January, when he hoped it would inflict less damage on an administration that was at the time battling claims Downing Street parties had breached Covid rules
Pictured: David Frost, formerly chief trade negotiator, looks on as Britain's Prime Minister Boris Johnson signs the EU-UK Trade and Cooperation Agreement at 10 Downing Street in 2020
Today's interview comes after the Prime Minister held a series of meetings to draw up plans to relaunch his Government before May's local elections and growing talk on his backbenches about a possible leadership challenge.
Changes are likely to start taking effect next month, when the worst of the winter Covid wave is expected to have passed.
Lord Frost makes clear he does not want Mr Johnson to stand down, but to change his policies –and the people around him.
'What I think we need to do is be clearer about the direction of travel, clearer about how we're going to get there. And I think the PM should trust his instincts a bit more,' he says, before criticising the No 10 operation.
'The PM has a right, when he wants something to happen, for the levers that he pulls to actually produce something. And he has the right to the best possible advice around him.
'So I think there needs to be machinery changes and there probably need to be some different voices around him to make sure that he gets the best possible advice.'
Setting out a manifesto for post-Brexit Britain, Lord Frost says: 'I think we need to focus on rebuilding the nation and be proud of our history.
'We need to get the country going economically again and that means free markets, free debate and low taxes. People need to look at this country and think, yes, something is changing here. You've got to set the direction of travel.
Setting out a manifesto for post-Brexit Britain, Lord Frost says: 'I think we need to focus on rebuilding the nation and be proud of our history.' Pictured: Lord Frost speaks with the European Union chief Brexit negotiator Michel Barnier in March 2020
'If we're going to get out of this little trough and win the Election in a couple of years' time, then we've got to develop that.'
His intervention comes after Tory MPs were shaken by a poll in last week's Mail on Sunday showing a Labour lead of 16 per cent in the 'Red Wall' seats seized by Mr Johnson in the 2019 Election, which are critical to his chances of winning the next one.
Lord Frost says: 'I saw the polling and it doesn't look good. I don't think the Red Wall is so different to the rest of the country. What people want is their own lives to get better. They want control of their lives and to be prosperous.'
Mr Johnson is waiting nervously for a Cabinet Office report into 'Partygate', which could come as early as the end of next week.
He is also asking advisers to come up with a way to tackle the cost-of-living crisis, with inflation forecast to hit seven per cent and energy bills set to rise by up to 50 per cent.
'Boris should trust his instincts more': In his first interview since his bombshell resignation, former Cabinet Minister Lord Frost sounds warning for embattled PM - but still backs him as the man to lead Britain post-Brexit
Exclusive Interview ByGlen Owen Political Editor For The Mail On Sunday
When The Mail on Sunday detonated the bombshell news of Lord Frost's resignation shortly before Christmas, Boris Johnson was considering imposing new Covid restrictions to tackle the surging Omicron variant.
But his dramatic departure – combined with a Commons revolt by nearly 100 Tory MPs – made that politically impossible. Christmas was saved.
Now the former Brexit Minister, who quit after months of quiet despair over Mr Johnson's increasingly un-Conservative high-tax, big-state political credo, hopes to perform a similar salvage operation on a Government which he says needs a swift and decisive reset.
The sound and fury surrounding Lord Frost's departure was not part of his original plan. He had actually resigned a week before our story appeared, but agreed to the Prime Minister's request to keep quiet about it until the storm raging over alleged rule-breaking at Downing Street 'parties' had receded.
'We thought it was the courteous and right thing to do,' says Lord Frost in his first interview since leaving the Cabinet.
Former Brexit Minister Lord Frost, who quit after months of quiet despair over Mr Johnson's increasingly un-Conservative high-tax, big-state political credo, hopes to perform a similar salvage operation on a Government which he says needs a swift and decisive reset
'There was a lot going on in December and people might have misunderstood the reasons.'
Lord Frost is keen to clarify that those reasons are political, not personal; that he considers Mr Johnson to be the right person to lead the country, but that he has the wrong policies and the wrong people around him.
His tone is diplomatic and cautious, but it is clear that he has little time for policies such as the expensive 'net zero' emissions target and proposed new laws on animal sentience which disgruntled Tory backbenchers – fairly or otherwise – believe Mr Johnson adopted at least partly as a result of pressure from his wife Carrie.
'I went into government in 2019 because I thought I wanted to do something for the country, wanted to help us deliver Brexit and start to deliver the benefits of Brexit,' he says.
'When I felt that was no longer working the way that I wanted, I thought that the right thing was to go.'
Lord Frost says that Mr Johnson's reaction to his resignation was to be 'sad', although other sources describe it as closer to 'incandescent' when the news leaked.
Speaking of how The Mail on Sunday broke the news, the former Minister said: 'That was a surprise and obviously it made it impossible for me to continue, so we agreed that evening that the best thing was to draw a line at that
