Paul Goodman, the former Conservative MP for Wycombe and now editor of ConservativeHome, says: “I think a leadership challenge is more likely than not. At the heart of the problem is the idea that MPs have to go over the top to defend the Government and advance its position. Under all governments, they are sometimes left in no-man’s land – as with David Cameron’s proposed privatisation of the forests. Under Boris, there have been more of these incidents than under previous administrations. Conservative MPs have just stopped trusting him. I don’t see how that’s going to recover.
“Wittgenstein said a philosopher must be at home in chaos. Boris is unlike every other politician, in that, in some deep way, he is at home in chaos. As long as he operates in the way he does, it’s hard to see why they would improve their view of him.”
Still, Boris Johnson is the Harry Houdini of British politics – the ultimate escape artist who has got out of more scrapes than any prime minister in living memory.
Iain Dale, the LBC presenter and author of The Prime Ministers, says: “Political obituaries are written too quickly. I can’t think of a single prime minister who hasn’t been through this. You’ve got to look at the wider historical context rather than something that happens on one day. We live in a media world where we obsess over things for 24 hours. Other things could come along.
“Labour have constantly underestimated him ever since he was mayor of London. It’s one of his greatest assets. As mayor, he understood his deficiencies and appointed good people around him. He hasn’t done that as Prime Minister. He’s the oldest person in Downing Street, at the age of 57. He needs people who can say no to him.”
And what about that text saying “Boris is finished”? I texted back, saying: “He’s got one more life left.” If cats have nine lives, our feline Prime Minister has surely used up eight.
Harry Mount is author of The Wit and Wisdom of Boris Johnson: the 10 Downing Street Edition (Bloomsbury). Buy now for £7.99 at books.telegraph.co.uk or call 0844 871 1514
