Well, that went pretty badly for the prime minister. (I’d say nobody saw it coming, except that this guy precisely did.) Yesterday began with allies of Boris Johnson expecting to keep the number of Conservatives going against their leader in the ballot below 100; it ended with dazed members of his fraying coalition being wheeled out to insist that 148 MPs saying they had no confidence in Johnson’s leadership, a result roughly on a par with that which did for Margaret Thatcher, was a resounding success.
By any halfway objective view, this is implausible, but that doesn’t mean you won’t be hearing a lot of it. Today’s newsletter will run through the talking points and the reality as Westminster reacts to last night’s hugely consequential vote. That’s right after the headlines – and do head to the website for the very latest this morning.
