"Most of us just want a period of silence from him so we can get on with saving what we can before the next election. But there's not very much chance of that happening."
This is the prevalent view among Tory MPs, many of whom backed Johnson for leader despite knowing his flaws and history of lying.
They have fallen out of love with Johnson more comprehensively than grassroots party members, having had ringside seats at the circus of his premiership.
Fewer than 10 of 350 Conservative MPs came out publicly in support of Johnson on the day the privileges committee report found he had misled parliament over Partygate.
Jacob Rees-Mogg, the former business secretary who was knighted in the ex-PM's honours list, described it as a "vindictive" overreaction. Some allies were privately threatening punitive deselection campaigns towards Tory MPS who backed Monday's motion in favour of censuring Johnson. However, the sound and fury did not last long.
Johnson, as he has done several times before, appeared to fire up outrage in his supporters before reining them in. There were reports that he would continue the fight against Rishi Sunak, conveying a message to his successor that Eton always beats Winchester, while his former communications director Guto Harri said Johnson would "go out in a flurry of bullets".
This story is from the June 23, 2023 edition of The Guardian Weekly.
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This story is from the June 23, 2023 edition of The Guardian Weekly.
Start your 7-day Magzter GOLD free trial to access thousands of curated premium stories, and 9,000+ magazines and newspapers.
Already a subscriber? Sign In
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