Britain faced a reshaped political landscape on Tuesday, even if its prime minister remained in place. Boris Johnson’s less-than-convincing victory in a no-confidence …
Britain faced a reshaped political landscape on Tuesday, even if its prime minister remained in place. Boris Johnson’s less-than-convincing victory in a no-confidence vote by his own party on Monday leaves him badly damaged, with few obvious ways to resurrect his fortunes and plenty of opportunities for coup plotters. With a potentially devastating Parliamentary by-election in two weeks and a drumbeat of woeful economic news, Mr. Johnson’s political position could well deteriorate even further. Some rebels in his Conservative Party may wonder whether they acted prematurely in forcing a vote now rather than waiting a few more weeks. Political analysts said that reflected the inchoate nature of this rebellion. It was less a tightly managed coup attempt than an organic movement of Tory lawmakers, frustrated after months of disclosures about illicit social gatherings at 10 Downing Street at a time when the rest of the country was in isolating pandemic lockdowns.
