Lord Frost tells Boris Johnson: Be a Conservative or face election defeat

Boris Johnson needs to bring his Government back along traditional Conservative lines to avoid defeat in the next general election, Lord Frost, his former Cabinet Office minister, has warned.

In his first public interview since dramatically quitting as Brexit Secretary last month, Lord Frost said Britain needs to “focus on rebuilding the nation and be proud of our history”.

He told the Mail on Sunday that a fresh appeal was needed to ordinary voters, centred on the principles of “free markets, free debate and low taxes”.

A change in the “direction of travel” was required to “get out of this little trough” and win the next election, he warned, as the Tories continue to struggle in the polls.

Lord Frost quit the Cabinet in December over concerns about the Prime Minister imposing fresh Covid curbs, as well as the Government's economic policy, including its planned National Insurance hike.

In his resignation letter, he also urged the Prime Minister to "deliver on the opportunities" of Brexit by moving "as fast as possible" to "a lightly regulated, low-tax, entrepreneurial economy".

On Saturday night, Lord Frost insisted he did not wish Mr Johnson to stand down - but instead shake up both his policies and his top team.

He told the newspaper: “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.”

Lord Frost had initially been persuaded to delay his resignation and stay on until the New Year.

He was then forced to quit with immediate effect after news of his resignation leaked.

A former adviser to Mr Johnson during the Prime Minister's time as Foreign Secretary, he was among a series of Cabinet members opposed to new restrictions.

His intervention comes after a recent poll suggested Mr Johnson could lose more than 100 seats at the next election amid a collapse in support for his party in the “Red Wall” seats.

Polling released on Saturday by Opinium showed the Tories had recovered some of their lost lead, with support rising two percentage points to 34 per cent, compared to 39 per cent for Labour.

However, Mr Johnson’s personal rating remains deeply negative.