Warring Tories must put the Union f irst

HOW rapidly fortunes turn. Just weeks ago, Boris Johnson was riding the crest of a political wave.

He had a seemingly unassailable lead in the polls. He was backed by Tory MPs, activists and voters alike. And Labour was scrabbling desperately for relevance. Surely he was cruising to a second term in No10. Then the wave broke. Ever since, the Prime Minister has been deluged by a daily torrent of bad news.

Sleaze accusations, calamitous decisions, humiliating U-turns and a deeply damaging police investigation into lockdown-busting drinks parties.

His Downing Street operation – disturbingly amateurish, unable to heed advice and arrogantly complacent – is on the brink of disintegrating.

In the past tumultuous 48 hours alone, one of his most trusted lieutenants quit over comments he made against Sir Keir Starmer relating to the prosecution of paedophile Jimmy Savile.

Meanwhile, another Tory MP submitted a letter of no confidence in his leadership.

Like Caesar in the Prime Minister’s beloved Classics, his enemies are sharpening their assassins’ blades.

Even his most passionate evangelists accept things look bleak.

Yet only the foolish would write off Mr Johnson. He has many times before defied political gravity. But the big question is whether he can do so again.

To placate disgruntled Tory MPs (whose constituents are rightly furious over the Partygate revelations), he has cleared out misfiring senior aides.

It is imperative he replaces them with people of experience, stature and authority.

Equally, he must begin to act like a leader. Grave times demand solemnity.

The Prime Minister has also confirmed his promise to give MPs and Cabinet ministers more influence, rather than running No10 like an aloof royal court.

So those agitated MPs circling Mr Johnson should stop, take a deep breath and not get carried away by the avalanche of hysteria and outrage on social media and 24-hour news.

The internecine warfare and manoeuvring are not just debilitating, they are a selfindulgent distraction from the issues that voters really care about.

The truth is, the Tory Party infighting benefits only Labour and the rest of Mr Johnson’s enemies.

A successful coup against him risks a general election and a diabolical alliance of Labour and the SNP seizing power.

Are the Conservatives really ready to inadvertently facilitate a coalition that would destroy the economy, the Union and everything we hold dear?