Mass resignations. Backbenchers demanding blood. Frontbenchers distancing themselves. It’s all gone a bit JG Ballard over at No. 10 as Boris Johnson seeks to prevent his premiership being scuppered by partygate. Fortunately though, the much-maligned Whips’ Office has come up with a cunning plan: a co-ordinated MP Twitter storm, eulogising the surprise resignation of five No. 10 aides as part of a long-term Johnsonian plan. Brilliant!
For while the resignations of Jack Doyle, Martin Reynolds and Dan Rosenfield were long-expected, those of Munira Mirza and Elena Narozanski were not and can hardly be construed as such. Mirza in particular had been by Johnson’s side for 14 years and submitted a damning resignation letter which hardly suggested going quietly into the night. Still, that didn’t stop Boris backers on the Tory WhatsApp groups pushing a tweet by uber-loyalist Stuart Anderson as an example of what they should be posting, to give the impression of a groundswell of support.
Undaunted by the resignations of both the PM’s head of comms and policy, Anderson dutifully claimed last night: ‘On Monday @BorisJohnson promised MPs change. Tonight we see that change starting to happen and I welcome this quick action by the Prime Minister.’ Following orders by Chris Pincher, Johnson’s deputy chief whip and Mark Spencer’s heir apparent, others followed suit with variations on such a theme, using remarkably similar words.
Spot, for instance, the difference between Michael Fabricant’s ‘The PM promised changes to the No10 operation at the 1922 on Monday, and it’s good to see action is now swiftly being taken’ and Joy Morrissey’s ‘The PM promised changes to the No10 operation earlier this week, glad to see him delivering tonight.’ Red Waller Peter Gibson went for a pithy ‘Great to see the change that @BorisJohnson promised in @10DowningStreet being delivered’ while new boy Brendan Clarke-Smith claimed: ‘The PM is taking swift action to shake things up.’
Still, by Steerpike’s account just seven MPs – Anderson, Fabricant, Morrissey, Gibson, Clarke-Smith plus Chris Clarkson and Alex Stafford – wrote such messages, in spite of the whips requesting MPs ‘craft your own short tweet’ to ‘show everyone that the PM means business.’ Others like Mark Jenkinson and Scott Benton simply went for retweets. Ominously, the vast majority of the parliamentary party have opted instead for Twitter silence – perhaps, unsurprising, given the mockery that those who tweeted such obsequious shows of loyalty subsequently received.
Many of those left in No. 10 are veterans of the Brexit and Tory election campaigns; they will know perfectly well the power of social media companies to make – or break – an administration. Live by the tweet, die by the tweet, eh Boris?
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