Boris johnson

It might prove easier for the Tories’ new leader Theresa May to reunite the party post referendum than expected. First, many Tory MPs have been taken aback by the brutality of the past few weeks. They know how close the party is to entering into a post-Maastricht cycle of political violence and there appears to be a desire to pull back from the brink. Second, both sides have had their pound of flesh. The Leavers have seen David Cameron resign and George Osborne see his leadership hopes dashed; the Remainers have seen Boris Johnson and Michael Gove brought low by the leadership contest. May’s biggest challenge will, obviously, be to

The EU Referendum has served to emphasise the huge divisions which exist across our country. One of the most prominent and significant of these divisions is the disparity between those who are seemingly economically comfortable and those who struggle on a daily basis. There are some who characterise these struggles as a natural conclusion of the austerity measures pursued by Coalition and majority Conservative Governments. If only it were that simple. The EU Referendum brought to the surface decades of growing anguish from sections of the country’s working people: wages that never seem to rise coupled with increased pressure on local public services – a double whammy of discontent. This

Dropping out of the Tory leadership race does mean one good thing for Boris: he can now go back to throwing rocks from the sidelines. Having landed himself in hot water last week with his Telegraph column in which he appeared to offer both freedom of movement for Brits abroad whilst introducing a much stricter immigration policy in the UK – which looked, at best, like wishful thinking – he’s now somewhat freer to speak his mind this time around. Boris certainly makes the most of that opportunity today. In his column, he says: ‘It is time for this nonsense to end. It was wrong of the Government to offer

Well I might as well say publicly what I’ve been saying to everyone who will listen privately for the last week. It seems to me that our country will regret the distraction and levity we have shown this past week. For those who campaigned to leave the EU, June 24th was not an opportunity to take a break but the start of the real work. Of course it remains astonishing that having lost the vote the Prime Minister and Chancellor of the Exchequer chose to go into hiding and abandon the country they were in place to serve. But it is also unforgiveable that having won the campaign those who

To subscribe to The Spectator’s weekly podcast, for free, visit the iTunes store or click here for our RSS feed. Alternatively, you can follow us on SoundCloud. A week after Britain backed Brexit, politics shows no sign of slowing down. David Cameron has resigned, Michael Gove has pulled out of Boris Johnson’s leadership campaign before launching his own. And Boris has decided not to run in the contest. We now have a final slate of five candidates vying for the top job. In his Spectator cover piece this week, James Forsyth says the Tory party is in a ‘deeply emotional state’. But he also points out that the leadership candidates who

Auf wiedersehen, Boris. He’ll be back, like a blond, bloated Voldemort inhabiting another life form – Top Gear host? Archbishop of York? Or endless BBC camping tours of Britain on a bike, the Portillo of the Portacabin? As Boris’ agent collects the offers – and his publishers are still owed a Shakespeare biography by the end of this anniversary year – he leaves behind him a Conservative Party scarred but resilient. There’ll be recriminations this week. Yet there’ll also be enduring relief, as one of Britain’s oldest institutions finds itself finally free of wrangling Etonians, chaps whose Brobdingnagian entitlement so undermined the gospel of One Nation inclusivity that both presumed

Who ever does become the new Conservative leader is going to face a difficult challenge uniting the party, let alone leading the Brexit negotiations. Following Michael Gove’s decision to run for Tory leader without bothering to tell Boris Johnson, a number of BoJo allies are distinctly unimpressed with the Justice Secretary. Perhaps none more so than Jake Berry. The Conservative MP for Rossendale and Darwen has taken to Twitter to declare that there is a special place in hell for people like Gove. Mr S suspects Gove can safely assume Berry will not be getting behind his last minute leadership bid. Update: Berry isn’t backing down… even if he is