The plot against the PM

After the implosion of Liz Truss’s premiership, Boris Johnson and Rishi Sunak met to discuss which of them should succeed her. Neither wanted to back down to make way for the other. Late one Saturday night, they discussed whether a way could be found that would suit them both. It could not. As they walked out of the room to meet their aides, Johnson joked that Sunak had agreed to be his chancellor (again). Sunak then patted his former boss on the back telling him: see you at the debates.

But there were no debates. The following evening, Johnson released a statement saying he would not stand – despite ‘a very good chance that I would be successful’ – given how few votes he had among the still shell-shocked Tory MPs. ‘You can’t govern effectively unless you have a united party in parliament.’