Under the unions of frosty street parties or children’s castles during the village’s jubilee celebrations, Conservative MPs quietly accepted the mood of their constituents before returning to Westminster for a week of bloodshed.
“I want people to come to me and greet me with that smile and the tilt of their head, which is usually preserved when your Labrador puppy has just been run over,” said a senior MP. “It’s deeply embarrassing.”
Although few have been directly confronted by angry voters demanding the ouster of the prime minister, most admit there is inconvenience in meetings.
“I don’t think anyone wants to ruin the weekend, but some members of my association have asked me if I have considered sending a letter,” one MP said. “This is a new territory, it is very serious. It’s like exposing the family. “
Several said the criticism came more from grief than anger – one recalled a Conservative couple who told them they had 130 years of party membership. “They said they could not vote for us again with any self-respect while Boris Johnson was in charge.
Even at the time of the national holiday, Johnson’s situation intervened unhappily. The prime minister was booed as he climbed the stairs to St. Paul’s – a moment described as “embarrassing” and “humiliating” by his colleagues – and was the subject of jokes by comedian Lee Mack, who opened the anniversary concert.
Some of these Johnson supporters say these jokes by Mack or Stephen Fry could help the prime minister – “This shows that his critics are a class of lovers,” said one. But whistling is much harder to ignore.
“These are ardent royalists who will come there at four in the morning, not vegetarian Guardian readers,” said one MP. “These are the friends of the municipal hospital, your city councilors, the backbone of Britain.
“A Tory prime minister usually expects to get some rebound from the anniversary weekend. But I think strangely, it actually reminded us of the prime minister’s shortcomings.
“We talked about debt. We talked about service. We talked about subordinating the person or oneself to the greater good. All these things are anathema to the prime minister. “
But even among Johnson’s strongest critics, they acknowledge that there is no consensus on his replacement – and that their voters have very little enthusiasm for an alternative.
The prevailing feeling that MPs report is a general feeling of boredom and frustration on the part of society. “We banned political talks all weekend,” one MP said.
Many said the emails they received about Partygate had dried up – although some said it was because they believed the public had decided what they thought of Johnson long before Sue Gray’s report.
“The public is really fed up – many blame the prime minister, some blame all politicians, others blame the ‘obsession’ with the media,” said one. “I have 30 emails after Gray’s report – much less than normal. Most of them send emails for the first time in January, but have stopped sending mail now. There is definitely real trust in politics and there is very low trust in politicians. “
Some of the Red Wall Tories, who are deeply loyal to Johnson, are particularly saddened by the plot to overthrow him – and warn that this will lead to further party divisions.
“There is speculation among some colleagues that if the greatest prime minister goes to the polls in a generation, MPs like me will suck him up and unite behind a new leader. They are wrong, “said the MP from the 2019 reception.
A veteran MP said he was very worried that the party would look increasingly divided under a new leader due to the uncertainty of a race.
If he does, he will likely include candidates from all wings of the party – including Jeremy Hunt, Rishi Sunak, Sajid Javid, Liz Trus, Penny Mordaunt, Tom Tugendhat and even outsiders like Tobias Elwood or Mark Harper.
All these candidates would repel certain factions of the Tories – not to mention the voters – said the MP. “The risk is to defend the prime minister and then end up with a leader you don’t like – which is entirely possible,” he said.
“In fact, it is very likely, because there is no obvious successor, then you will have a very close campaign with many different candidates.”
Most lawmakers – horrified at the prospect of a split parliamentary party – spent the weekend trying to turn talks back to local projects or emphasize their own credentials as worthy civil servants.
“Everything that each of us can do is do our best, trying to lead by example and upholding integrity,” said a former minister. “Of course, Theresa May did it, and in the end it wasn’t enough, but it’s the only way most of us live with ourselves.
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