Is this the end of the Conservatives?

Nothing, not even the world’s oldest and most successful political party, lasts forever. So could the current crisis convulsing the Conservative party mean its extinction as a significant force in British life?

Only three years ago simply posing this question would have seemed ridiculous. Back in December 2019, it was not the Tories who were staring down the barrel of a gun, but Labour. Boris Johnson, promising to get Brexit done, delivered an 80-seat majority for the triumphant Tories, hoovering up working-class votes and seizing seats that had never elected a Conservative before. After suffering their worst defeat since 1935, it was Labour who looked as though they were on their way to the political graveyard.

What a difference three years can make. Today Labour is some 28 points ahead in the polls, the Tories are about to choose their third prime minister in as many years. If an election were held tomorrow, some projections have them losing an extraordinary 300 seats, reduced to a laughable rump of just 22 MPs, and leaving the SNP as the official opposition to all-conquering Labour.