London Daily

Focus on the big picture.
Saturday, Oct 04, 2025

Inside Boris Johnson's post-Brexit bubble, where he's king of his party but cut off from reality

Inside Boris Johnson's post-Brexit bubble, where he's king of his party but cut off from reality

Boris Johnson should be in trouble. There are very real challenges to everyday life unfolding all over Britain.

Drivers have been lining up at gas stations hoping to fill their cars, something made difficult by widespread fuel shortages. There are fears that that the cost of heating is about to surge, that more people will financially struggle to feed themselves, and that labor shortages will threaten food supplies at Christmas.

And on the island of Ireland, there is legitimate concern that the British government is about to suspend part of the Brexit deal that prevents tension between the north and south.

The fuel crisis was caused by a lack of truck drivers, a situation partially due to the Brexit that Johnson campaigned for. And there is plenty of evidence that the Prime Minister could have taken decisions months ago that would have avoided many of the wider problems.

It stands to reason that the buck stops with the UK leader, and he should be under enormous pressure from his own supporters to fix things and keep the public happy.

However, Johnson has proven time and again that, for him, the rules of conventional politics simply do not apply.

His party faithful have gathered in the city of Manchester this week for the first time since Johnson won a landslide election, "got Brexit done" and ended Covid-19 restrictions in the United Kingdom. The mood here is celebratory.

Celebratory mood


Whatever is happening to citizens out there in the real world, the giddy bubble of the Conservative Party conference isn't just ignoring these myriad crises because they are inconvenient. The truth is that neither Johnson nor his party are under any real political pressure or suffering any consequences -- despite being responsible for many of these issues.

Rather than reflect on the pandemic, considering ways to mitigate the impact Brexit is having on the economy or worrying about the opposition Labour party capitalizing on Johnson's blunders, Conservative party members appear to be making up for two years of being unable to celebrate Johnson's success.

And it really does feel as though it is Johnson's success they are enjoying. Normally, conferences such as these focus on a series of talking points spread across government departments, showcasing the breadth of talent in the ministerial team.

But this conference has really been about one thing: Johnson's at times ambiguous dream of "leveling up" the UK, which is about bringing poorer communities in line with wealthier areas in terms of quality of life, job opportunities and more.

The logic behind this is straightforward: if Johnson can make life better in areas that don't have the same opportunities as some cities, most notably London, the resentment in those run-down areas toward the elite will be reduced, Johnson will be hailed a nation-unifying hero and he will tighten his grip on the UK's electorate.

Boris Johnson on the campaign trail in 2019, when he pledged to "get Brexit done."


There are questions about how the PM plans to fund his ambitions. Yes, some members of his own cabinet have been outspoken about the government's idea to raise taxes in order to pay for things like social care. Others in the party, mostly traditional fiscal conservatives, are uncomfortable with the amount of state intervention and funding Johnson has seemed fine with during the pandemic.

However, when these grievances are weighed against the fact that Johnson delivered the Conservative party its largest majority since the 1990s, it turns out that power at any cost apparently tastes better than losing with honor.

One government minister told CNN on Monday night that "fuel problems, food shortages, arguments over tax, all this stuff is definitely happening. But riding on his wave of success is ultimately just more fun."

Poor opposition


CNN asked multiple government officials, including cabinet ministers, why the very real problems facing the country were not being discussed at all. Their replies all pointed to the fact that -- as they see it -- if an election were held tomorrow, Johnson would win comfortably.

"The party, the members, we are all unified around a personality who keeps winning on his own terms. It's absolutely intoxicating to be part of," said one government official.

The reasons for Johnson's success are most likely down to poor opposition on numerous fronts.

Within his own party, he is an unrivaled king for the reasons outlined above. It's very rare for any party leader to face as little public dissent as Johnson does. Even ministers who were sacked in the most recent reshuffle are full of praise for their leader.

Outside the gated conference in Manchester, the official opposition Labour party has also failed to make any real capital out of the recent crises plaguing the country.

Even at their own party conference last week, Labour members were more focused on internal party politics than attacking an incumbent government that has been forced to call in the army to deliver fuel.

Andy Burnham, the Labour mayor of Manchester, even offered to work with Johnson on his "leveling up" agenda, acknowledging that the country has suffered from far too much division following Brexit and the pandemic.

The truth is, there's probably very little to be gained from attacking the Prime Minister anyway.

Outside the gates in Manchester, even the numbers of anti-Conservative protestors are smaller -- and much less vocal -- than at other conferences in recent years, when British politics was deadlocked by Brexit.

Out of use fuel pumps at a BP petrol station in Birmingham, England, on September 28, 2021.


On Monday night, the EU Commission held a reception in the conference center. Officials who spoke to CNN commented -- with some surprise -- on how little Brexit was being discussed. "They only seem to care about this leveling up thing," said one. "Whether it's a good or bad thing, they all seem to be on the same page and behind Boris."

Earlier on Monday, Johnson's bulldog-ish Brexit negotiator David Frost, had talked of unilaterally suspending the Northern Ireland Protocol in a matter of weeks.

The protocol, a key point of contention throughout the Brexit talks, was negotiated and signed with the EU by Johnson himself; it aims to eliminate the need for border controls between Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland. Suspending it could have wide-ranging and damaging consequences.

Somewhat surprisingly, Frost was seen chatting away with European officials like old friends at the same EU Commission reception.

Before the conference began, some Conservative MPs told CNN that the party needed to answer one question: Is the man who used his personality-led brand of politics to ram Brexit through, after years of deadlock, the right man to navigate the UK through years of turmoil and avoidable crises.

If the past few days in Manchester are anything to go by, the answer is an unequivocal yes.

Whatever is going on in the real world, Johnson retains a poll lead big enough to win an election. He holds a parliamentary majority that means he can get virtually any policy through the House of Commons. There is no one in the UK, in any political party or opposition group, who looks even close to weakening his grip on British politics any time soon.

The Prime Minister's sister once said that when he was a young man, Johnson wanted to be "world king." He might not be that, but he's currently the de facto king of British politics. And he has the means at his disposal to hold tight to that power for as long as he chooses.

Newsletter

Related Articles

0:00
0:00
Close
Trump Administration Launches “TrumpRx” Plan to Enable Direct Drug Sales at Deep Discounts
Trump Announces Intention to Impose 100 Percent Tariff on Foreign-Made Films
Altman Says GPT-5 Already Outpaces Him, Warns AI Could Automate 40% of Work
Singapore and Hong Kong Vie to Dominate Asia’s Rising Gold Trade
Trump Organization Teams with Saudi Developer on $1 Billion Trump Plaza in Jeddah
Manhattan Sees Surge in Office-to-Housing Conversions, Highest Since 2008
Switzerland and U.S. Issue Joint Assurance Against Currency Manipulation
Electronic Arts to Be Taken Private in Historic $55 Billion Buyout
Thomas Jacob Sanford Named as Suspect in Deadly Michigan Church Shooting and Arson
Russian Research Vessel 'Yantar' Tracked Mapping Europe’s Subsea Cables, Raising Security Alarms
New York Man Arrested After On-Air Confession to 2017 Parents’ Murders
U.S. Defense Chief Orders Sudden Summit of Hundreds of Generals and Admirals
Global Cruise Industry Posts Dramatic Comeback with 34.6 Million Passengers in 2024
Trump Claims FBI Planted 274 Agents at Capitol Riot, Citing Unverified Reports
India: Internet Suspended in Bareilly Amid Communal Clashes Between Muslims and Hindus
Supreme Court Extends Freeze on Nearly $5 Billion in U.S. Foreign Aid at Trump’s Request
Archaeologists Recover Statues and Temples from 2,000-Year-Old Sunken City off Alexandria
China Deploys 2,000 Workers to Spain to Build Major EV Battery Factory, Raising European Dependence
Speed Takes Over: How Drive-Through Coffee Chains Are Rewriting U.S. Coffee Culture
U.S. Demands Brussels Scrutinize Digital Rules to Prevent Bias Against American Tech
Ringo Starr Champions Enduring Beatles Legacy While Debuting Las Vegas Art Show
Private Equity’s Fundraising Surge Triggers Concern of European Market Shake-Out
Colombian President Petro Vows to Mobilize Volunteers for Gaza and Joins List of Fighters
FBI Removes Agents Who Kneeled at 2020 Protest, Citing Breach of Professional Conduct
Trump Alleges ‘Triple Sabotage’ at United Nations After Escalator and Teleprompter Failures
Shock in France: 5 Years in Prison for Former President Nicolas Sarkozy
Tokyo’s Jimbōchō Named World’s Coolest Neighbourhood for 2025
European Officials Fear Trump May Shift Blame for Ukraine War onto EU
BNP Paribas Abandons Ban on 'Controversial Weapons' Financing Amid Europe’s Defence Push
Typhoon Ragasa Leaves Trail of Destruction Across East Asia Before Making Landfall in China
The Personality Rights Challenge in India’s AI Era
Big Banks Rebuild in Hong Kong as Deal Volume Surges
Italy Considers Freezing Retirement Age at 67 to Avert Scheduled Hike
Italian City to Impose Tax on Visiting Dogs Starting in 2026
Arnault Denounces Proposed Wealth Tax as Threat to French Economy
Study Finds No Safe Level of Alcohol for Dementia Risk
Denmark Investigates Drone Incursion, Does Not Rule Out Russian Involvement
Lilly CEO Warns UK Is ‘Worst Country in Europe’ for Drug Prices, Pulls Back Investment
Nigel Farage Emerges as Central Force in British Politics with Reform UK Surge
Disney Reinstates ‘Jimmy Kimmel Live!’ after Six-Day Suspension over Charlie Kirk Comments
U.S. Prosecutors Move to Break Up Google’s Advertising Monopoly
Nvidia Pledges Up to $100 Billion Investment in OpenAI to Power Massive AI Data Center Build-Out
U.S. Signals ‘Large and Forceful’ Support for Argentina Amid Market Turmoil
Nvidia and Abu Dhabi’s TII Launch First AI-&-Robotics Lab in the Middle East
Vietnam Faces Up to $25 Billion Export Loss as U.S. Tariffs Bite
Europe Signals Stronger Support for Taiwan at Major Taipei Defence Show
Indonesia Court Upholds Military Law Amid Concerns Over Expanded Civilian Role
Larry Ellison, Michael Dell and Rupert Murdoch Join Trump-Backed Bid to Take Over TikTok
Trump and Musk Reunite Publicly for First Time Since Fallout at Kirk Memorial
Vietnam Closes 86 Million Untouched Bank Accounts Over Biometric ID Rules
×