A little under four months ago, when this column went on hiatus, and I was on sabbatical, Boris Johnson’s demise was universally considered to be imminent. So imminent, in fact, that I was anxiously minded to delay the leave so that I would not miss the Moment. So imminent that my own predictions at the time that Partygate would probably amount to little in the short or medium term seemed to wobble under what looked like an irresistible weight. The pundits were certain, the Johnson supporting press was running out of justification road, and voters were too mad to stand for it.
A lot has happened since then: resignations, police fines, a damning Sue Gray report, byelection losses, a confidence vote. But in terms of the big thing, the only big thing that really matters, nothing has happened. Johnson’s resignation or ejection – and the associated restoration of some semblance of standards and values in British politics – is still, well, imminent.
