Drip, drip, drip. The first rule of any political rebellion is to learn how to count. Something the none too bright Simon Clarke has yet to master. Though, to be fair, it is more than possible that several MPs who promised to support his call for Rishi Sunak to be replaced faded back into the shadows when the time came. Disloyalty can be contagious. If you can betray Rish! then it’s all too easy to betray Simple Simon. And the Tory right are not noted for keeping their promises.
So Clarke had been left to go it alone. A one-man rebellion shouted down by Tories from both the left and the right of the party. The closest to unity the Conservatives had come in months. And all because Simple Simon had committed the cardinal sin of telling the truth.
