We must take into account the fact that for the Conservative faithful Boris is still the hero. His support in the land of the Tory activists cannot be ignored. Rishi has not made much of a dent there. To them Rishi is the man who stabbed their hero in the back, writes Mihir Bose
Boris Johnson is history. That is the refrain coming from our political commentators following his testimony to the Parliamentary Privileges Committee. I would not rush to that judgement. Certainly, he was rattled during the three and half hours of grilling. He had come in looking like a Boris we have never seen before. Gone was the traditional Boris look of a pantomime artist always trying to amuse us. Instead we had the look of a man who never mocks or jokes. Even his hair, which is always ruffled, was combed.
During the questioning by his fellow MPs he was so put off his stride that not once did he use the classics, laced with humour, to show off and distract us from reality as he has done so often in the past. And to make matters worse as he left only 21 diehard supporters joined him in voting against Rishi Sunak’s revised Northern Ireland protocol. If this is the best he can do to unseat Rishi then, runs the argument, surely he is a spent force?
Yes, should the privileges committee really come down on him hard, and he is suspended for more than ten days, then a recall petition could see him lose his seat. But sanction by the privileges committee does not mean Parliament will suspend him. That process could pose problems for Rishi Sunak.
We must take into account the fact that for the Conservative faithful Boris is still the hero. His support in the land of the Tory activists cannot be ignored. Rishi has not made much of a dent there. To them Rishi is the man who stabbed their hero in the back.
And even if the privileges committee comes down on Boris then it looks like he might do a Trump and refuse to accept the verdict. When asked whether he would accept the verdict he did not say he would. And as he demonstrated during the hearing he will try to implicate Rishi. Several times in his testimony he referred to the fact that Sunak, or the Chancellor of the Exchequer as he always called him, had also been fined by the police.
And while Rishi has steadied the Conservative ship after the Liz Truss storm he still comes over like a technocrat. He is the man you turn to when you have a computer problem to solve. Rishi took the opportunity of Boris’s testimony to release his tax details. I am sure this was advised by his PR minders to get it under the radar. In a country wedded to a monarchy we prefer those who have inherited wealth. And although Rishi does not flaunt his wealth like the rich in America, or in India, do, we have a distrust of those who have become rich rather than born rich. Some years ago in a taunt which has often been referred to Alan Clarke, then a Cabinet minister, dismissed his colleague Michael Heseltine as the kind of person “who bought his own furniture” (as opposed to someone with ‘breeding’ who inherits furniture). I feel some of that attitude still remains.
In this country a Trump-like figure bragging about his wealth would be considered very un-British.
The other problem with Rishi is that he is a child of immigrant parents. Now this should be celebrated as evidence of how this country provides opportunities for migrants and of its much advertised kind and tolerant nature. But here we come up against the fact that Rishi is not white. I hesitate to always see race as an issue, but Rishi does carry the baggage of his colour.
Rishi has shown he can win over white people. When he first went to his Yorkshire constituency he was distrusted but now he is much liked if not acclaimed by his constituents. But that has taken a great deal of personal interaction and I am not sure he has that time to win over the country. It is one thing to win respect for managerial skills quite another to get the electorate to fall in love with you. Certainly not the way the Tory faithful love Boris Johnson.
The key moment will come when the May local elections take place. Should the Conservatives get smashed, as many think they will, then Boris’s army which is waiting in the wings, sharpening its claws, will jump into the fray. They will be gunning for Rishi the man who betrayed their hero. Their argument will be Rishi the nerd can never win them an election. Boris could still do it. That is when they will make their move to have the king over the water crowned.
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