Nadine & Moggsy – the two Johnson uber-loyalists
One feature that really has been interesting in the past few weeks has been which cabinet members have always been there to support the Prime Minister during his recent troubles. As Steerpike in the Speccie notes this really has been down to just two – Dorries and Rees-Mogg.
He writes:
The current impotence of the Prime Minister can be measured in many forms. But one of them is just how few Cabinet ministers are willing to go out and give Boris Johnson their full-throated support on various media platforms. It’s telling that of the 30 or so ministers attending Cabinet, only two seem to be shouldering most of the responsibility: Jacob Rees-Mogg and Nadine Dorries. ..Unfortunately, the recently-appointed Culture Secretary appears to be embracing her social media brief a little too enthusiastically. Not only did she retweet comedian Joe Lycett’s mocking tweet feigning support for Johnson, but her constant snark at Tory waverers is beginning to seriously rile her backbench colleagues.
He goes on:
Some of those who attended the infamous meeting last week claim to merely have concerns about recent developments and resent having their loyalty questioned; others dislike seeing a more senior colleague mock them online. Given many on the back benches already feel unloved and unappreciated by the current regime, is goading them on Twitter really the best way to stop more letters going in?