There are whispers from Tory MPs that Boris Johnson is on ‘probation’

Things can only get worse for Johnson, in the short term at least, writes Andrew Grice

Johnson needs to change to survive as PM (AFP/Getty)

When John Major ran into deep trouble as prime minister, I prised a quote from a leader of the 1922 Committee of Tory MPs that he was “on probation”. This wounding verdict made the front pages and Major never recovered his authority. Ominously for Boris Johnson, the same p-word is being whispered by his backbenchers after the worst week of his premiership.

Like Major, a damaging narrative is being set in stone that Johnson will struggle to break. The permanent crisis mode eclipses everything, and isn’t ended by fightbacks, relaunches and resets, as Johnson will have to attempt in the new year.

This week was “crime week” on Downing Street’s planning grid. Although we briefly saw Johnson in a police bobble hat, it wasn’t supposed to be about whether allegations about No 10 parties before last Christmas would be referred to the police. Context is all: the latest row about the refurbishment of Johnson’s Downing Street flat was more serious because it dovetailed with claims he did not tell the truth about the parties.