Tory MPs are losing faith in a prime minister who cannot be straight with voters, his staff or even them
The Conservative party has a reputation for being ruthless when it comes to disposing of leaders of whom it despairs. Margaret Thatcher was dispatched when her flagship policy turned into a political disaster. David Cameron jumped before he was pushed after losing the Brexit vote. Theresa May was pulled down following humiliating Commons defeats. Just two years after a famous election victory, Boris Johnson is possibly next in line to be humbled.
The reason is not so much the scandals that have been lapping at Downing Street’s door for months. It is that even while dripping in fluid from the swamp, Mr Johnson’s instinct is not to be honest and accountable. That is why the prime minister has made a fool of his standards adviser, Lord Geidt, who believed his claim that he knew nothing about how the refurbishment of his No 10 flat was being funded when – WhatsApp messages revealed this week – he did.
