Senior Brexiteers are prepared to defect to the Brexit Party if Mr Johnson fails to deliver Brexit (Image: GETTY)
The Tory leadership frontrunner could be blamed for senior Eurosceptics walking out on the Conservatives if he backtracks on his vow to deliver Brexit, with or without a deal. Mr Johnson’s support surged after he made his intentions clear, but he later clarified he was not aiming for a no deal exit. A former minister said if Mr Johnson changed course, it would be too much to bear for many Conservative party members, donors and MPs, and the party would be “over”.
They told the Sunday Express: “Boris has been told straight. We have backed him but he has got to keep his word. We have to leave on October 31 or it is over.
“The donors will be gone, the members will be gone and MPs will go. We will have no choice, it will have to be the Brexit Party.
“We have had promises from a Theresa May Government and been let down, we cannot be let down by a Boris Johnson Government. If we are, it is over.'
The ex-minister’s comments come as a new YouGov survey showed 47
