When Boris Johnson took his seat in the House of Commons on Monday afternoon, his most loyal supporters on the bench behind him seemed confident in his prospects. Sue Gray’s decision to issue an «update» on her investigation into Downing Street parties in place of a full report on timid spirits in Conservative seats provided another opportunity to evade.
The update was worse than many expected, revealing that police were investigating 12 gatherings, including one in Johnson’s private apartment. But it looks like Johnson still has some time to buy.
He adopted a tone of remorse, telling MPs he was sorry and that he «understood» and «would fix it» before announcing the reorganization of Operation Downing Street. It was going well enough that he switched gears and took a campaign-style look at his accomplishments in getting Brexit done and vaccinating the population.
The prime minister’s tone felt all the more inappropriate when Keir Starmer delivered a perfectly wise speech that began by describing and praising the sacrifices most people have made during the pandemic. The Conservative seats were muted and remained that way when Starmer denounced Johnson as an unabashed man and demanded to know what MPs who took the prime minister’s fate in their own hands would do about it.
False far right
Johnson responded by launching a personal attack on Starmer, claiming that he spent most of his time as Director of Public Prosecutions «suing journalists and failing to sue Jimmy Savile». Tory MPs may not have known that Johnson was repeating a lie peddled by far-right conspiracy theorists, but they realized he was once again throwing the wrong tone.
Theresa May stood up to ask whether Johnson was aware of the rules, did not understand them, or thought they did not apply to him. She muttered that she should wait for the outcome of the police investigation but after a few minutes, former Minister Andrew Mitchell said the Prime Minister no longer had his confidence.
The cover behind Johnson was looking more desperate now, but the most devastating intervention was yet to come. It came from Aaron Bell, the Red Wall conservative who became an MP in 2019, describing how he drove three hours to join nine other people at his grandmother’s funeral.
«I gave a eulogy after which I didn’t even go to her house for a cup of tea; I drove back, for three hours, from Kent to Staffordshire. Does the prime minister think I’m an idiot?» he said.
About two hours later, Johnson left the room with a handful of supporters still there and headed to address his entire parliamentary party. They met him weaker and more exhausted, their confidence in him fading but too shy to attack even now.
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