Katy Balls Katy Balls

What if Boris Johnson was still prime minister?

Credit: Getty Images

It’s one year today since Boris Johnson resigned as prime minister, following mass resignations in the ministerial ranks. At the time Johnson hinted he would return, but 12 months later he is no longer an MP. Meanwhile the Tories have fallen further back in the polls. The last YouGov poll taken before Johnson resigned had Labour on an 11-point lead. The latest YouGov poll finds that this has extended to a 25-point lead, with Rishi Sunak struggling to reverse the party’s fortunes.

So, where did it all go wrong? As expected, those who back Johnson look at those poll differences and argue it is evidence that the Tory party collectively lost its mind last summer and has been paying the price ever since. On our latest Coffee House Shots podcast, Fraser asks whether the party would really be in a worse place had MPs just stuck with Johnson.

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