London Daily

Focus on the big picture.
Wednesday, Sep 03, 2025

Johnson’s terrible legacy: the PM who held his party and his country hostage

Johnson’s terrible legacy: the PM who held his party and his country hostage

The public, MPs and one-time allies in cabinet want him out. Johnson’s decision to face them all down is a landmark in our political history, says Guardian columnist Simon Jenkins
It was meant to be a mafia death, with no need for a 1922 Committee manoeuvre or an MPs’ vote.

When the men in grey suits left Downing Street on Tuesday night, they put on the table the requisite revolver and bottle of whisky. Boris Johnson apparently tossed them in the bin. Michael Gove, very much a cabinet big beast was one of those urging the PM to resign. On Wednesday night he was sacked. Johnson pretty much threw him in the bin too.

The Tory party remains an oligarchy. Over the course of the day an unprecedented 40 ministers and their aides quit Johnson’s side. They will prevail, but not just yet. Johnson won’t go without blood, sweat and tears.

If he tries to cling on into next week, it seems certain that the party’s 1922 Committee will meet, change its rules and vote no confidence in him. His vainglorious televised cabinet meetings will look horribly empty. He cannot possibly tell the Queen he commands a parliamentary majority.

At a certain point it is not integrity or even competence that is required of a political leader. The issue is simple dignity. The wilful self-delusion of Johnson through one Downing Street fiasco after another could possibly pass muster if it were thought to conceal a steely sense of purpose. But it won’t because it conceals nothing but a feckless ambition, still bolstered by the slavish support of a band of second-rate cronies. His time is up, but they won’t tell him and he cannot see it.

Johnson appears still to believe he can appeal to a popular electoral mandate over the heads of his parliamentary colleagues: a grim parody of the lingering campaign of his opposite number and erstwhile admirer, Donald Trump in America. But it won’t and can’t work. In Britain, layers of political membrane separate the office of prime minister from the electorate.

The issues that have brought Johnson down – Partygate, honours sleaze, the resignation of Lord Geidt, (his former ethics adviser), and of course the allegations levelled at his former deputy chief whip Christopher Pincher – may not be matters of life and war and death, but still they matter and their cumulative effect has drained him of authority among his colleagues, and the public.

A prime minister of ability and stature might have shrugged them off, but Johnson is not that prime minister: his apologies have been half-hearted, his remedies vacuous. He seemed genuinely not to care about openness or truthfulness or to understand what part they should play in the exercise of power.

His final remarks to parliament on Wednesday suggested a hope that people would not welcome a sudden upheaval in Downing Street at a time of stress in the nation’s affairs, and it is a measure of his collapse that his colleagues are now prepared to take that risk. They are allowed by the British constitution to do so.

Johnson has left his country in the most appalling mess, a mess clearly to be symbolised by the manner of his leaving.

He can retreat to a bunker, rage and even reshuffle, but the game is up. He won’t be allowed to hold his party, and his country hostage for long.
Newsletter

Related Articles

0:00
0:00
Close
Google Avoids Break-Up in U.S. Antitrust Case as Stocks Rise
Couple celebrates 80th wedding anniversary at assisted living facility in Lancaster
Information Warfare in the Age of AI: How Language Models Become Targets and Tools
The White House on LinkedIn Has Changed Their Profile Picture to Donald Trump
"Insulted the Prophet Muhammad": Woman Burned Alive by Angry Mob in Niger State, Nigeria
Trump Responds to Death Rumors – Announces 'Missile City'
Court of Appeal Allows Asylum Seekers to Remain at Essex Hotel Amid Local Tax Boycott Threats
Germany in Turmoil: Ukrainian Teenage Girl Pushed to Death by Illegal Iraqi Migrant
United Krack down on human rights: Graham Linehan Arrested at Heathrow Over Three X Posts, Hospitalised, Released on Bail with Posting Ban
Asian and Middle Eastern Investors Avoid US Markets
Ray Dalio Warns of US Shift to Autocracy
Eurozone Inflation Rises to 2.1% in August
Russia and China Sign New Gas Pipeline Deal
China's Robotics Industry Fuels Export Surge
Suntory Chairman Resigns After Police Probe
Gold Price Hits New All-Time Record
Von der Leyen's Plane Hit by Suspected Russian GPS Interference in an Incident Believed to Be Caused by Russia or by Pro-Peace or by Anti-Corruption European Activists
UK Fintechs Explore Buying US Banks
Greece Suspends 5% of Schools as Birth Rate Drops
Apollo to Launch $5 Billion Sports Investment Vehicle
Bolsonaro Trial Nears Close Amid US-Brazil Tension
European Banks Push for Lower Cross-Border Barriers
Poland's Offshore Wind Sector Attracts Investors
Nvidia Reveals: Two Mystery Customers Account for About 40% of Revenue
Woody Allen: "I Would Be Happy to Direct Trump Again in a Film"
Pickles are the latest craze among Generation Z in the United States.
Deadline Day Delivers Record £125m Isak Move and Donnarumma to City
Nestlé Removes CEO Laurent Freixe Following Undisclosed Relationship with Subordinate
Giuliani Seriously Injured in Accident – Trump to Award Him the Presidential Medal of Freedom
EU is getting aggressive: Four AfD Candidates Die Unexpectedly Ahead of North Rhine-Westphalia Local Elections
Lula and Putin Hold Strategic BRICS Discussions Ahead of Trump–Putin Summit
WhatsApp is rolling out a feature that looks a lot like Telegram.
Investigations Reveal Rise in ‘Sex-for-Rent’ Listings Across Canada Exploiting Vulnerable Tenants
Chinese and Indian Leaders Pursue Amity Amid Global Shifts
European Union Plans for Ukraine Deployment
ECB Warns Against Inflation Complacency
Concerns Over North Cyprus Casino Development
Shipping Companies Look Beyond Chinese Finance
Rural Exodus Fueling European Wildfires
China Hosts Major Security Meeting
Chinese Police Successfully Recover Family's Savings from Livestream Purchases
Germany Marks a Decade Since Migrant Wave with Divisions, Success Stories, and Political Shifts
Liverpool Defeat Arsenal 1–0 with Szoboszlai Free-Kick to Stay Top of Premier League
Prince Harry and King Charles to Meet in First Reunion After 20 Months
Chinese Stock Market Rally Fueled by Domestic Investors
Israeli Airstrike in Yemen Kills Houthi Prime Minister
Ukrainian Nationalist Politician Andriy Parubiy Assassinated in Lviv
Corporate America Cuts Middle Management as Bosses Take On Triple the Workload
Parents Sue OpenAI After Teen’s Death, Alleging ChatGPT Encouraged Suicide
Amazon Faces Lawsuit Over 'Buy' Label on Digital Streaming Content
×