London, Oct 3 (AFP/APP):Prime Minister Boris Johnson’s Conservative party opens its annual conference Saturday in an edgy mood, as stricter coronavirus curbs on British life prompt mounting questions about his leadership. The health crisis has forced the conference to switch to virtual format, and it will open with a keynote speech by Foreign Secretary Dominic Raab laying out Britain’s priorities as a sovereign state outside the European Union. Johnson will close the conference with a speech on Tuesday, and he will have to face down mounting disquiet within the party and the public at large, as a second coronavirus wave worsens what is already the highest death toll in Europe. According to a survey by the ConservativeHome news site, support has slumped among party members for mandatory local lockdowns, and more now favour a Sweden-style approach that emphasises voluntary social distancing. Johnson won a thumping election victory in December, but ConservativeHome editor Paul Goodman noted that in the party at large, his personal approval ratings now trail that of the government’s. Johnson has been accused by some of his own lawmakers of governing by diktat as millions more people in England are forced into local lockdowns, and dissidents have been … Continue reading UK’s Johnson bids to woo restive party members