Boris’s cheerers will feel cheated if he goes

It was reported gleefully that Boris Johnson was booed as he entered St Paul’s Cathedral for the Jubilee Thanksgiving service last Friday. This was true but – as the BBC did add, though sotto voce – he was also cheered. Listening to the recording, I thought the cheers were a bit louder than the boos, but obviously neither has any statistical significance. What the mixture may indicate, however, is a problem which will arise if – which is likely, but by no means certain – he does have to leave office in the coming months following his weak victory in the no-confidence vote. The cheerers will feel cheated. The myth will develop that the duly elected Boris was destroyed by the establishment. And myths, though not the same as the truth, are also not the same as lies. There undoubtedly has been an establishment attempt, in part concerted, to stymie Boris. It began the moment he led the Leave campaign to victory in the 2016 referendum. It included Michael Gove’s successful effort to wreck his candidacy for the leadership after David Cameron’s resignation, the behaviour of the Supreme Court over prorogation, the behaviour of Mr Speaker John Bercow on all occasions and Theresa May’s efforts to achieve Brexit in name only. It includes the continuing interest of George Osborne in affairs of state long after he left office, the behaviour of the European Commission and Emmanuel Macron, of the FT, the BBC, the vice-chancellors of virtually all universities and the permanent secretaries of most government departments. It even includes Dominic Cummings, a genuinely anti-establishment character who accidentally switched sides when, having fallen out with Boris, he decided that the unelected have the right to overthrow the elected. The rancour caused by this belief will do great and long-term damage.