Why are Tories still loyal to Boris Johnson?

As an outsider looking in, it is curious to note just how loyal some remain to Boris Johnson. Not the payroll vote or even the backbenchers keeping their heads down, but the grassroots, the rank-and-file members and Tory voters both lifelong and more recent. Boris is a man who has never given loyalty and has no grounds to claim it from others. This is also a party storied for its ruthless despatching of even beloved leaders when they become electoral liabilities. So what gives?

I have a couple of theories. One is that, closing in on 12 years in power, the party has grown tired and listless, no longer sure why it’s in government or to what end. Let’s not forget the past decade has been politically hyperactive, from the Tory-Lib Dem coalition and austerity to riots and terror attacks, from the UK quitting the EU and Scotland almost quitting the UK to efforts to block the former and re-litigate the latter.