“Loyalty is a fine thing, Nadine Dorries, but Mr Johnson was not removed by a ‘coup’…”. So began MP Sir Roger Gale’s tweet yesterday in response to Dorries’ claim on the Today programme earlier that morning that Rishi Sunak had led a “ruthless coup” to remove Johnson. Gale continued: Johnson was forced to resign when most of his ministers and backbenchers “made it plain we were no longer prepared to tolerate his casual relationship with the truth.” Too many times he sent out his ministers to defend lies. He ended his premiership in a flood of resignations, a fact now conveniently forgotten by the Johnsonians.
The Culture Secretary is enjoying a fine war and she is not a woman to be under-estimated. Dorries’ Twitter account has never been busier. An unexpected resignation of a Prime Minister is shocking and painful for the loyal team and family. It is better, however, if those natural feelings of betrayal are soon put to bed, or at least disguised. Political parties are just that: parties made up of many willing participants. They are not a solo shindig, for one. I find my sympathy fast-waning, as this has become a personal war by the Johnson zealots. The only winner will be Boris Johnson, not the Conservative Party, and certainly not the country.
There is such a disconnect from reality in SW1 and the shires that Johnson’s return is already being raised. This is going to leave an unpleasant shadow over the Conservative Party that will only benefit Labour and the Liberal Democrats. Trust in Westminster will fall further (if that were possible). Neither candidate reminds us that Johnson was forced from power for playing fast and loose with integrity. If it hadn’t happened now, it would have happened in the autumn. For a PM who resigned in scandal, his rehabilitation has been remarkably swift. His steep decline was not forced on him by his young Chancellor, yet Sunak may lose the race for that perception alone.
Secondly, the bitter insults, mostly from heart-broken Boris fanatics, won’t be forgotten. The members may forget. The voters won’t. This is still a fractured party; that much is clear and every day any opportunity for healing slips further away. Who votes for a political party fighting itself?
Thirdly, the Tories are also likely to lose one of these hugely talented contenders, when we never more needed the brightest minds working together in government to overcome our vast challenges. Sunak and Truss are both popular and widely liked. The unpalatable truth for the Boris avengers is that Sunak and Truss need each other for the fight ahead. Not that they will care. Sunak from the get-go has had far more broad support from the serious big hitters and ministers in government. And more MPs supported him. Truss would certainly gain their service, but she would never forget whom they opted to serve first â this will not build a cabinet of trust. There is no love lost between Truss and Michael Gove, another vital operator, also sacked by Johnson, and the popular Penny Mordaunt is not a fan of the Truss/Johnson camp and their underhand methods in derailing her campaign.
In having cannily tied herself to the right of the party to win the member-given crown, painting herself as a new Brexit zealot, Truss would also antagonise the south-west voters, who are likely to desert to the Liberal Democrats in droves in two years’ time while the “Red wall” may still fall. Both contenders have a lot to offer in winning those different votes. Labour meanwhile looks increasingly attractive post- Corbyn â many will see them as the only vote for change this country needs.
Sunak wouldn’t hesitate to keep Liz Truss; he sees her attraction and her talent. Yet, she would be goaded to sack him by those who have lent her their support (in the media and government). Or she may treat him so badly he has no choice but to resign politics entirely (what the Johnson avengers want). It would leave a bitter taste and remove a committed Brexiteer who manages to appeal to moderate and swing Tory voters. He is seen as a tech-savvy modernising force for younger voters, aged 35-50, at an election. Tory members may view San Francisco with distaste; tech natives do not.
Stitching together both elements — the Lord Frosts and the Ruth Davidson moderates — is a necessity for whoever walks into Number 10.
But Johnson and his crew want personal revenge to come first. With unity coming last.
Triumph of the Lionesses is long overdue
Happily ensconced in Scotland, in a house with no TV, I missed the Lionesses’ epic performance this week. Their fans are in their millions and sponsorship fees will be quadrupling, meaning more investment for them and serious slots on mainstream channels to rival the male Premiership.
For years this felt like a dream. Aged 23, a rookie at The Guardian, I nervously challenged the male-dominated editorial conference one morning about the fact that their then Sports section repeatedly ignored female sport. Elsewhere, women’s rights were championed in the famous Guardian Women’s pages. For one month I had counted how many female sports stories were published each week. The tally barely made one hand. Female football teams hardly existed. I didn’t gain many fans that day. Yet here we are, two decades on. That is positive change.
We’re not out of the Covid woods just yet
My 14-year-old has contracted Covid for the third time in six months. In a house of 20 guests, as a family we quickly gained pariah status. Despite the fact that Covid is galloping headlong into every household — and holiday — 24 hours of panic ensued. My son has been banished to his room for the last two days.
Fearful of a wider outbreak that we would get blamed for, I offered to leave early to avoid distress. His symptoms are no worse than normal flu. It is indicative of the fear of Covid that still haunts us.
Long Covid continues to make everyone feel threatened. And even if mostly it is no more miserable than a nasty bout of flu, it is treated with much more significance, to be announced on social media. It is a reminder that we are a long way from normal.
