Press Demands Tory Suicide

As I told yesterday, whatever the question being asked by those in and around the Tory Party, the answer can never be Boris Johnson. London’s formerly very occasional Mayor has inevitably been talked of as the next Tory leader in the wake of Theresa May’s less than stellar showing in last Thursday’s General Election, but his abysmal Mayoral record, and his skeleton cupboard, mean his should never be the name in the frame.

Sadly for those who scrabble around the dunghill that is Grubstreet, taking any notice of those outside the press bubble is not on their agenda, and nor is any kind of real world analysis. The only thing that counts for so many of the Press and Pundit Establishment is that Bozza is one of their own. He can do journalism, they argue, and so he is instantly an expert on every subject known to humankind, especially politics.

So it was no surprise to see the Mail on Sunday telling readers “Boris Johnson is preparing a new bid to become Prime Minister as Theresa May’s grip on No 10 becomes increasingly fragile … A close ally of the Foreign Secretary said last night it was ‘go-go-go’ for Mr Johnson’s leadership push, adding: ‘We need Bojo. We need a Brexiteer. We need somebody who can talk and connect with people like Jeremy Corbyn does. We need someone who can make Britain believe in itself again’”.

And it’s complete crap. Bozza isn’t a Brexiteer - he’s an unprincipled opportunist. He’s hardly going to make Britain believe in itself when he doesn’t himself believe most of what he says. But on ploughs the press, with the Murdoch Sunday Times claiming “Five cabinet ministers urge Boris to topple May”, along with an opinion poll showing support for the PM resigning, by 48% to 38%. The Murdoch Sun goes further.

There, alleged Sunday political editor David Wooding claims “BORIS Johnson is being lined up to mount a Tory leadership bid … Plotters fear Theresa May will not survive the summer and are urging the Foreign Secretary to save the party and Brexit”. Bozza couldn’t save with the Woolwich, never mind save the Tory Party.

But on gurgles Wooding: “Boris is their favourite but has yet to be told he is the popular choice … It would be an astonishing comeback almost a year after he pulled out of his last leadership bid - giving Mrs May a clear run for the crown … At least three MPs have been asked to be stalking horse candidates to trigger a contest”. More complete crap.

It’s yet more of the self-serving nonsense the right-leaning part of the Fourth Estate dreams up when it’s got no idea what to do. And while some of the press goes into default “Good old Boris” mode, the Daily Star has added another minus point to the Bozza account - his apparent removal of barriers from London Bridge which would, had they been left in place, have prevented pedestrians being mowed down last weekend.

On top of that, a YouGov poll gives us a glimpse of Bozza’s real popularity with the electorate - he doesn’t have any. Nor do David Davis, Amber Rudd, Philip Hammond, Liam Fox or Micheal Gove. The only Tory name they could get a positive score for was Ruth Davidson - and she isn’t even in Parliament right now.

What the press is demanding is that the Tories commit suicide so they can get one of theirs into its Top Job. Thus the shortcomings of the Media Establishment in one story.