EU election drubbing is 'final warning' to Tory party over Brexit, warns Boris Johnson

Conservatives face 'permanent haemorrhage' of support if they fail to deliver Brexit, says leadership hopeful

The Conservatives have been issued with a “final warning” by voters in the European elections and face a “permanent haemorrhage” of support if they do not deliver Brexit, Boris Johnson has warned.

The Tory leadership frontrunner said his party would be “dismissed from the job of running the country” if it did not respond to Sunday night’s humiliation by taking the UK out of the EU.

Nigel Farage’s insurgent Brexit Party took nearly a third of the national vote to top the polls as a swell of support for the pro-Remain Liberal Democrats and Greens pushed to Conservatives down to fifth place.

The Tories won just three seats and less than 9 per cent of the vote overnight in the worst nationwide election result in their 185-year history.

“Today our employers – the people – have figuratively summoned us to the Human Resources department for a final warning about our performance,” wrote Mr Johnson in his Daily Telegraph column.

He added: “The message from these results is clear. If we go on like this, we will be fired: dismissed from the job of running the country.

“The only way to avert that outcome is to honour the result of the 2016 referendum, and come out of the EU; and that means doing it properly.

“If we fail yet again to discharge that mandate, then I fear we will see a permanent haemorrhage of Conservative support, and loyal voters who have left us to join the Brexit Party (and others) may simply never come back.”

Foreign secretary Jeremy Hunt, who is also vying to replace Theresa May as prime minister, said the Conservatives’ failure to deliver take Britain out of the EU posed an “existential risk” to the party.

He said the “painful” EU election result should drive the Tories to “come together and get Brexit done”.

Daniel Hannan, one of only few Tory MEPs to retained their seats in European parliament, said the outcome of Thursday’s vote was ”without question our worst result as a party ever”.

But he suggested the Conservatives’ fortunes would be turned around and the threat from Mr Farage’s Brexit Party neutralised if the UK did leave the EU.

“People voted to leave three years ago and we haven’t left, it’s as simple as that,” he said.

He added: “The appeal of a party called the Brexit Party will dry up very quickly once Brexit has happened.”

The success of Mr Farage’s party is likely to harden the stance of Tory leadership contenders who want a no-deal Brexit to remain on the table, as well as deepening party divisions on the issue.

Several candidates, including Mr Johnson and Dominic Raab, have said they would be willing to let the UK crash out of the EU without a deal on 31 October.

Children’s minister Nadhim Zahawi, who is backing Mr Raab, said on Monday morning he was “not frightened” of that prospect.

But other Tories, including chancellor Philip Hammond and leadership hopeful Rory Stewart, have indicated they could back a no-confidence vote to topple any prime minister who tried to pursue a no-deal Brexit.