Boris on the edge

In a development that has been prematurely predicted so many times that it seemed it would never happen, a sufficient number of Conservative MPs have rediscovered their sense of decency to trigger a vote of no confidence in party leader and Prime Minister Boris Johnson.

Ballots are being cast as I write, with the result due to be announced later this evening. The smart money seems to be on Boris managing to hang on, but with his already precarious authority further diminished.

Most politicians would take this as a signal that it was time to retire with at least some dignity intact, but Johnson is shameless enough to portray the narrowest of victories as a resounding mandate, so I expect we will be stuck with him for the foreseeable future. He will have to devote his entire attention to party management, rather than running the country, but, given the mess he has created with his Statesman cosplay so far, that may not be an entirely bad thing.