The current Tory breakdown is all the more remarkable given how quickly it has happened. As recently as last September they led comfortably in the polls. Keir Starmer was widely derided as an ineffectual centrist bumbler with no charisma. At the start of this parliament, in early 2020, the Tories looked invincible, holding an 80-seat majority having won 43.6 per cent of voters.
And now, at the peak moment of crisis, there is serious talk of bringing back Boris. Well-informed commentators seem to think he could still garner the support of more than 100 MPs, and perhaps even be back in Downing Street in time for Guy Fawkes Night. The Emperor slips away from Elba and marches north to Paris, attracting the old veterans of his great campaigns. One more shot at glory.
Whether or not Johnson can indeed be reunited with his Lulu Lytle wallpaper, it seems extraordinary that any Tories should even be considering such a step.
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