BORIS Johnson has told Tory MPs that failing to support him in a vote of no confidence would make way for Labour to enter a coalition with the SNP.

Despite Keir Starmer having already rejected the possibility of entering an agreement with Nicola Sturgeon’s party at a future General Election, pollsters have indicated it may be a likely outcome.

It is thought that the next election will take place between 2023 and 2024. First Minister Sturgeon intends to hold a second independence referendum before the end of next year.

Earlier this spring, the founder of Electoral Calculus suggested Labour would struggle to achieve a full majority at Westminster.

"We'd probably be looking at a Labour minority government that might be supported by the LibDems if they're lucky,” Martin Baxter told The Telegraph. “But it would probably be more likely to lead to SNP support. And obviously, the price of that SNP support would probably be a second independence referendum.”

In the wake of this research, Labour veterans told Starmer to explicitly rule out working with the SNP or granting indyref2.

Douglas Alexander, a former Labour MP who was ousted by Mhairi Black in 2015, says his party need to act now to get ahead of Conservative attacks.

Now with Johnson’s position under threat, the Tories are keen to revive images of the SNP leader sitting in the Labour chief’s pocket.

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“They would be an utter disaster in office…” Johnson is reported as telling his backbenchers.

“The only way we will let that happen is if we were so foolish as to descend into some pointless fratricidal debate.”

Meanwhile at the private meeting, where he was greeted by the traditional banging of desks, Johnson told MPs the no-confidence vote was a “chance to stop talking about ourselves and start talking exclusively about what we are doing for the people of this country”, sources said.

That meant instead of some “hellish Groundhog Day debate” about the merits of belonging to the European Union’s single market, the party could unite and focus on delivering for voters.

“The people in this room won the biggest electoral victory for the Conservatives for 40 years under my leadership,” he went on.

Jacob Rees-Mogg said Johnson spoke “very, very well” with “vim and vigour” at the 1922 meeting with MPs.

The Brexit opportunities minister told Sky News: “He spoke very, very well and very clearly – set up his successes but also, more importantly, what he’s going do next because people always focus on the future, not on the past.”

The National:

Rees-Mogg went on to say: “I thought there was plenty of vim and vigour particularly as he talked about leadership.

“Because the thing to remember about Boris Johnson is he is a remarkably charismatic leader – people stop in their cars to get out and say hello to him and shake him by the hand.

“That’s a charisma nobody else in the Conservative Party, or indeed in the Socialist Party, has.”