Boris Johnson should stand down with immediate effect. Yes, he has managed to fill various cabinet posts. But he will find it more difficult to fill the junior ranks of government.
It would clearly be better for the smooth running of government for all the ministers who quit yesterday to return. But that won’t happen with Johnson still there, even if he has resigned as Tory leader. So, the simplest thing to do is for Dominic Raab to become interim PM and say he won’t stand in the leadership contest. He could then steer the ship of state until the start of September by which time the Tories will have elected a new leader.
There is also the trust question. It is so broken down now that if Johnson stays as PM having resigned as Tory leader, there will always be speculation that he is looking to engineer a way to avoid going.
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