The Conservative Party should now be considering life after Boris Johnson

Editorial: It is axiomatic that any political leader who faces a vote of confidence is doomed, sooner or later

(Brian Adcock)

To adapt the prime minister’s most successful slogan, he is stuffed and oven-ready, but is yet to be placed lovingly in the cooker at gas mark 7 and thoroughly basted in his own rich juices. He should be done by Christmas, though, and in all likelihood will be roasted long before that. The Tory party should now be considering its next course.

It is axiomatic that any political leader who faces a vote of confidence is doomed, because it is proof that they are no longer unassailable. Though in radically different circumstances, leaders from Neil Kinnock, Margaret Thatcher and John Major to Iain Duncan Smith, Theresa May and Jeremy Corbyn have all faced such formal challenges or votes, and it has not ended well for any of them.

A leadership challenge is the beginning of the end, whether it be won or lost, and whether it takes days or years. Sooner or later, their party or the electorate will finish them off.