The Tory party is waking up this morning reeling from one of its most dramatic days since, well, last week, when the Prime Minister announced he was resigning. MPs from across the party are amazed at what they largely see as not just an act of treachery from Michael Gove but also a breach of how politicians generally behave towards their friends and their party, which is generally with loyalty. Many of them wonder how on earth the Justice Secretary can really reunite the Conservative party at the end of a bitter referendum battle when he has just injected a great deal of bitterness into the leadership contest.
Meanwhile, those around Boris Johnson are on a war footing. The former Mayor continued with his speaking engagements last night, but his friends and particularly those involved in trying to sell Boris to the party over the past few years are utterly furious and feel that Gove was responsible for the very weaknesses in the Boris campaign that he identified as reasons for turning on his friend.
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