As Tory MPs scramble over each other to resign from Boris Johnson's government, the prime minister shows no signs of standing down.
But what motivates the UK leader to stay in office despite his plummeting support?
We talked to psychologist and behaviour expert Dr Pam Spurr about why she believes he just won't budge....
Dr Pam Spurr explains here why Johnson won't quit
"Watching news programmes recently, I’ve seen a multitude of vox pops (soundbites from people in the street) about Boris Johnson.
"Certainly, the majority say things like they can’t understand how he’s still in Number 10.
"It’s a point of discussion from bedrooms to boardrooms: how does he do it, how does he ignore the bad press, surely he must crumble? And such like.
"However, at today’s PMQs, Johnson’s demeanour was full of bluster and bravado, some anger too, but no evidence of wavering.
"What gives him his supposed confidence? I’ve never met Johnson but as an avid news watcher, I can make educated guesses as to why he’s shredding the ends of his fingertips by hanging on.
"Let’s begin with his well-known admiration for Winston Churchill.
"He desperately wants to be seen as the saviour of the country as Churchill was in World War II. He longs to emulate Churchill’s place in history.
"He wants to be the Prime Minister that heroically brought the country through the pandemic and delivered Brexit.
"This is the classic sense of self-importance of the narcissists I’ve met. They absolutely need the oxygen of attention and admiration.
"This requires them to continually shine and garner that attention. They feel nothing without it.
"They feel deserving of it. Failure will pierce the core of their small ego to the extent that they can’t bear.
"Because at the heart of it, I think Johnson is antithesis of what many people say about him being so “full of himself”.
"The high-powered people I’ve met, who also ignore the destruction they leave in their path, are actually deeply insecure.
"They’re not actually full of themselves. They’re simply good at playing that part.
"Don’t forget that skilled showmen and entertainers often describe their powerful need for attention and adulation.
"That’s why the show must go on, as far as they’re concerned, even if they’re deeply troubled about things outside of the ‘show’.
"Don’t underestimate how such people have a deep conflict within their personalities.
"On the one hand they feel deserving of admiration but on the other they fear they don’t deserve it.
"They often struggle with impostor syndrome. But that just makes them fight even harder to hang on to what they’ve attained.
"These traits can give such people a lot of charisma as Johnson seems to have. But charisma is a shallow characteristic if inside they feel a fake.
"Charisma will not keep them afloat when everything is crumbling around them as Johnson is experiencing now."
