The split over Boris Johnson’s future is just the start of a massive Tory identity crisis

‘Tory MPs know Boris Johnson is a problem, but also that removing him will expose how much deeper the problem goes.’ Photograph: Ben Stansall/AFP/Getty Images

In the thinned ranks of Conservative MPs who still support Boris Johnson, few consider him a man of honour. Perhaps none. Their loyalty can’t be composed of moral inspiration or shared principle, since the prime minister believes only in his entitlement to live in Downing Street. Mostly it is fear of losing current privileges and hope of gaining new ones.

Some MPs have been promised promotion; others cling to ministerial jobs that would never have been available if competence had been the recruitment criterion.