PHEW!
No, not because of the rising July temperature but finally a moment to step back and reflect on quite possibly the wildest 42 hours in British politics.
From 6pm on Tuesday evening until 12.30pm yesterday (Thursday) there was more drama than in a season of House of Cards no matter the talents of the great Michael Dobbs.
A tsunami of resignations, a slew of ‘no confidence’ comments and pleas from loyalists to the Prime Minister ‘to go for the good of the party and the country’.
In response, defiance from a Prime Minister rightly pointing to the 2019 election result where the Conservative Party led by Mr Johnson delivered the party’s biggest majority for more than 30 years.
Yet he has gone, because in his words: “When the herd is powerful and when the herd moves, it moves and my friends in politics no one is remotely indispensable.”
In a world of many competing voices, this was a Conservative Party coup against its leader while the rest of us watched on.
Was it the right thing to do? There will be many supporters of the Prime Minister, many of whom were attracted to the party because of Mr Johnson’s campaigning powers, who will feel rightly upset.
Some though will be glad, some will even rejoice but when he does depart it will be again because of events and not the verdict of the people, surely that’s something on which our democracy depends?
You have to go back to Edward Heath to find the last Prime Minister given both the thumbs up and then the thumbs down from us, the voters.
Cameron, May and now Johnson have been brought down by events, not policy, nor the verdict of voters even though it was Mr Johnson who repealed the Fixed Terms Parliament Act to make it easier for a General Election to be called.
It’s a risk the Conservative Party appears to be willing to take though, the question now is there one in the ‘herd’ who will emerge from the pack?
You sense we have not yet reached the end of this box set of British political drama. The next chapter will be upon us before we know it.
Now where’s that remote?
