LONDON — Replacing Boris Johnson was meant to let the U.K.’s ruling Conservatives move on from the chaos and distractions turning off voters.
Instead, a long leadership battle has exposed deep divisions in the ruling party and bolstered the sense of inertia at the heart of government. Senior Tories warn the combination of a “zombie” administration putting off decisions until Liz Truss or Rishi Sunak becomes prime minister on Sept. 6, as well as the vitriol between the rivals, is doing irreparable damage.
In a regular summer, with Parliament on recess and many Britons away on holiday, a policy vacuum would be unlikely to trigger alarms.
