Despite his nominal victory in a confidence vote, the magnitude of the protest against Boris Johnson by his own MPs is a bad result for him and for his party. It is bad, above all, for the country. Britain faces momentous challenges at home and abroad — a perilous war in Europe, a vicious cost of living squeeze. For as long as the wounded prime minister limps on in office — and that will be his instinct — the country will have a governing party riven by squabbles, and a leader who must constantly watch his back.
It remains extraordinary the extent to which Johnson has been the architect of his own misfortune. Barely a year ago, the Conservative by-election victory in the longtime Labour stronghold of Hartlepool suggested the prime minister had rallied the party behind his brand of populist-interventionist Toryism. Even the “partygate” fiasco might have been survivable with a different approach; less combative hubris, more contrite humility. Instead, it catalysed discomfort among his MPs and the broader electorate over Johnson’s failings — above all, a belief that the normal rules do not apply to him.
The prime minister’s refusal to accept the consequences of his mistakes, and take the course many other holders of the office would, makes this not just a misfortune for him but for UK voters. The bunker mentality in Downing Street that has been characteristic of the Johnson era will become still more entrenched — not helped by the inept performance of the recently rebooted top team in whipping support for the leader in Monday’s vote.