It is not operation ‘Save Big Dog’, it is operation ‘Save the Tory Party’. Johnson survived yesterday’s vote but only just and the damage has been done as it was for Thatcher, Major and May before him. He should go and go quickly so the Tory Party can rebuild itself free from the drama, chaos and partisanship of his premiership although it may be too late for the next election.
Johnson’s luck has run out…
What has struck this blog about support for Johnson amongst his fellow MPs was how transactional it always was, even in Johnson’s heyday. Few actually liked or trusted him but if he could see off Labour and get Brexit done, that was enough. The depressing aspect of this view was how much it underestimated the damage Johnson could do whilst being PM and, actually, how inaccurate this analysis was in the first place.
With confidence, almost any Tory leader could have seen off Corbyn second time around, perhaps with a smaller majority, and getting Brexit done by breezily incorporating the Northern Ireland Protocol regardless of previous commitments not to and then attempting to renege on it has been a disaster.
There is also Johnson’s broader legacy. Pushing ‘partygate’ partly to one side, Johnson has never considered the consequences of his actions because it has always been about Johnson, not the Tory Party or, more importantly, the country. Jesse Norman MP, in yesterday’s letter to his constituents, withdrawing his support for Johnson’s leadership, gave his reasons brutally; a ‘culture of casual law-breaking’, ‘putting the Union gravely at risk’, keep changing the subject ‘to create political and cultural dividing lines mainly for your advantage, at a time when the economy is struggling, inflation is soaring, and growth is anaemic at best’. Finally, a Rwanda policy ‘ugly, likely to be counterproductive and of doubtful legality’.
This deeply ‘unTory’ of Prime Ministers has waged wars against the establishment, crossed lines on matters of fundamental morality and sought cultural splits, aided by some distinctly dubious No.10 advisers, that are pointlessly divisive and wholly unacceptable to moderate voters. Combine these with basic incompetence in day to day governing with no guiding philosophy and it has all become a toxic mix.
It is time for the Tory Party to reinvent itself with a new leader and, in doing so, free itself from the obsession with Brexit, that one doubts Johnson ever really believed in. It is time for a more coherent economic policy, it is time to think longer-term and more strategically and raise the basic standards of government.
One reads that any future leadership battle will be a re-run of Brexit. Why is this? If it about this one issue, then the Tory Party should step aside not just Johnson. A new Tory leader should form a government based on core Tory values discussed in earlier blogs, seeking a level of consensus which has led to it being the most successful political party in democratic history. There would be nothing wrong with a Remain voting new leader (remember Major, Cameron, May?) who knowing Brexit was done sought to build bridges with Europe, helping deal with issues such as illegal immigration for example, without picking populist fights for short-term tactical advantage.
There is a war in Ukraine, a cost-of-living crisis, a broad-based threat to the Union and some real long-term, deep seated economic concerns. Many in the Tory Party could manage these challenges shrewdly and, crucially, with more integrity than the current incumbent.
Johnson’s authority has been shredded by this far worse than expected vote. It is a lame duck administration at the mercy of its backbenchers and providing an open goal for the opposition benches. It is time for a change of leader and quickly if the Tories are even to begin to recover in time for the next General Election.
Inside Right Politics 