Read on Twitter
1. So this is my take. Call it a conspiracy theory if you like. But remember in the wake of the referendum when Cameron went off humming to himself (I love this video of it, btw)
2. In the subsequent leadership race, everyone had Johnson down as a winner. Then there was THAT email which Sarah Vine (wife of Gove) "accidentally shared with a "member of the public". How you do accidentally that is beyond me, tbh. https://www.theguardian.com/politics/2016/jun/29/michael-goves-wife-doubts-boris-johnson-email-sarah-vine-dacre-murdoch
3. Johnson then stood down from the leadership race. Nadine Dorries blubbed. https://www.theguardian.com/politics/2016/jun/30/boris-johnson-rules-himself-out-of-tory-leadership-race-brexit-eu-referendum
4. My view even then was that it was because the time wasn't right to deploy "good old Boris". There were months and months to go before Brexit were to happen. Theresa May was a place-holder, kicking the can down the street with lazy negotiators and unworkable Brexit proposals.
5. (The 2017 GE didn't help her)
6. Tories bided their time til Brexit was on a cliff-edge, then deployed Bumbling Boris, the nation's favourite clown, because they knew they could only win a GE with him at the helm. He got away with all the unlawful stuff like proroguing parliament because he's such a lad!
7. It has long been my theory that it was never intended for him to remain in place. His sole role was to "Get Brexit Done" (and encourage enough people who loved the despicable rogue to vote for him to do it.) The pandemic has been a godsend to the Tories in many ways....
8... because it has allowed the devastating effects of the Hard Brexit imposed by the ERG to pale into insignificance while we are battling Covid. But now the Covid crisis is ramping down, with more and more people vaccinated Johnson has outlived his useful political life.
9. He has always been described as lazy and shambolic. Not even bothering to show up to COBRA meetings at the start of the pandemic being a prime example. https://bylinetimes.com/2020/07/01/lazy-slapdash-badly-organised-the-backbench-grumblings-on-boris-johnsons-future-have-begun/
10, He has never been a proper PM. Cummings ran the govt. https://www.ft.com/content/0bf8a910-372e-11ea-a6d3-9a26f8c3cba4
11. Now his useful political shelf-life has come to an end, of course there will be a leadership challenge and an ERG member will be elected in his place to finish the asset-stripping of our nation.
