When Boris Johnson appeared with his wife Carrie for the service at St. Paul’s Cathedral in honor of the Queen on Friday, the crowd at the barriers grew restless. And then, as the Johnsons climbed the stairs, there was no mistaking it: people were booing Johnson. A Tory Prime Minister who is being booed by people well-disposed towards the Queen has a problem. Royalists and conservatives come from the same demographic.
Conservatives and Johnson voters actually too, at least that was the case in December 2019 when the Tories won an 80-seat majority with Johnson at the helm. But two and a half years is a long time, especially in politics. During this time, Boris Johnson has gone from being a winner to a risk, from a playmaker to a substitute. 211 times “Yes” in the vote of no confidence on Monday evening may mean that the Tories voted their prime minister at least mathematically. But mathematics alone is unlikely to be enough to calm Johnson’s critics. Especially since the bill also includes the fact that there are 148 dissenting votes on the other side: more than Theresa May once had to accept.
The problem isn’t political, it’s Johnson’s handling of Partygate
It’s not to blame as Johnson claimed again on Monday, the aggressive British media landscape, but only himself. He has too often made promises he could not keep, inflation is rising faster in Britain than in some other countries, and the cost of living has long been a problem for many Britons. Voters whose account is in the red at the end of the month are potentially angry voters.
However, the problem that is causing Johnson the most distress is not a serious political one, but his handling of the Partygate affair, which has been shaping the agenda in Westminster for the past six months. An inquiry is underway into whether Johnson lied in Parliament over the Downing Street lockdown parties. He has been fined by the police, with a total of 126 penalties imposed on fellow cabinet members or Downing Street staff. Under Johnson’s leadership, a culture has developed at the seat of government in which rules that apply to the rest of the country are not considered binding.
According to the party statutes, Johnson is now safe for a year, formally the vote of confidence may not be asked again during this time. But a man for whom formality is as important as straight hair should know that there is no internal party rule that cannot be broken when the situation calls for it. He doesn’t decide that, but his 358 colleagues in Parliament. That has not changed on Monday evening.