Now that the Tory party has confirmed we’ll know the identity of its new leader and therefore in theory our new prime minister in the week beginning 22 July, it is also possible to capture the single issue that will dominate both the coming two weeks of voting by MPs – who will choose the shortlist of two – and then the definitive choice by party members. It is this deceptively simple question: will Boris Johnson save or sink the Tory Party?
Right now the former foreign secretary and Churchill biographer is streets ahead of the pack, both in respect of the declared support of Tory MPs and popularity among party officials and the membership.
Now to be clear the big doubts are not about his competence, even though some think that is a proper concern, given that those who worked with him at the Foreign Office, in City Hall (when he was London Mayor) and at The Spectator Magazine (where he was editor) don’t unanimously sing his praises.
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