Another demonstration of Tory ruthlessness
It is always said that the Tory Party is the most ruthless when it comes to dealing with failing leaders. That reputation will be reinforced by the events of 2022 during which so far has seen Johnson and Truss pushed aside when it became clear they had become electoral liabilities.
Johnson’s fate was put in doubt when revelations about what he had done during lockdown were going down very badly with the voters.
Since the start of September we have seen Johnson’s replacement, Liz Truss, being rudely dispatched when it became blindingly obvious that she wasn’t up to it.
This is heavy burden on Sunak and I detected in his first public comments as leader yesterday afternoon a hesitancy that was somewhat surprising.
He’ll only be too aware of his party’s reputation and that he will continue to be seen by many Tories as the one who brought Johnson down. It was perhaps that part of his past that led to him to struggle in the member’s ballot when it was him against Truss.