U.K. PM Johnson claims to be on track to win next election amid rebellion

“At the moment I’m thinking actively about the third term.”

British Prime Minister Boris Johnson on Sunday angered many of his Conservative Party colleagues with bold claims of being on track to lead the governing party at the next general election, despite a growing rebellion against his leadership following scathing defeats in two important by-elections.

Mr. Johnson has been putting up a strong defence in the face of criticism after voters punished the Conservatives over the partygate scandal and rising cost of living crisis by voting for Opposition Labour and Liberal Democrats in the by-elections earlier this week.

With these by-polls seen as a de facto referendum on his leadership, the U.K. PM was asked by reporters at the end of the Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting (CHOGM) in Rwanda if he would like to serve a full second term in office until the next election expected in 2028-2029.

"At the moment I'm thinking actively about the third term and what could happen then, but I will review that when I get to it," he told reporters.

A Downing Street source later suggested he may have been joking.

Earlier, in a BBC interview, Mr. Johnson said: “If you’re saying you want me to undergo some sort of psychological transformation, I think that our listeners would know that is not going to happen.”

“What you can do, and what the government should do, and what I want to do, is to get on with changing and reforming and improving our systems and our economy.” He claimed that voters were "fed up with hearing conversation about me" and wanted to focus instead on the cost of living, the economy and "standing up to violence and aggression" in Ukraine.