, Columnist
Boris Johnson’s Confidence Vote Win Means Tory Civil War
The prime minister lives to lead another day, but his party is stuck with the same dilemma it started with.
Lives on.
Photographer: ALBERTO PEZZALI/AFPThis article is for subscribers only.
How can the Tories dump a leader who has been as successful at winning elections and riding out controversy as Boris Johnson? And yet how can they stick with one whose character has become a liability, whom the public distrusts and whom many see as a threat to the integrity of governing institutions?
The answer to both questions seems to be, they don’t know. Johnson’s party still can’t decide if it’s better off with him or without him. The result of that indecision is likely to be an increasingly fractious governing party and more polarized political climate.