Analysis

Boris Johnson is a bit like Churchill – but not in the ways he might want.

— Both Churchill and Johnson had a complicated relationship with the Conservative Party. The only way they compare?

UK Politics

Boris Johnson says his time as UK PM was ‘mission largely accomplished’. How does that actually stack up?

— Boris Johnson is about to leave 10 Downing Street to be replaced by one of two colleagues. His history in the top job is a chequered one.

Long-Read

London’s Olympic legacy: Why £2.2 billion investment in primary school PE has failed teachers.

— The 2012 London Olympics and Paralympics promised to have a major impact on school sports. Ten years on, many primary school PE lessons have been outsourced to private sports contractors, resulting in the ‘deskilling’ of a generation of teachers.

Fact-Check

If you voted Tory for any of these 16 reasons, you made a big mistake.

— If you ever voted Conservatives, or intend to at the next elections, see what they tell you they are going to do in power and look at what they actually did whilst in government. Why fact-checking is essential before voting.

Analysis

The fall of Boris Johnson: Any democracy should look to his case and ask if it is enabling machiavellian leaders.

— Boris Johnson is not the first world leader to prioritise his own ambitions over meaningful governance. But his fall is a good moment for reflection on how far a democracy is prepared to tolerate, and even reward Machiavellian tendencies.

OPINION

Quick summary of the ERG’s – sorry, your next Prime Minister’s plans for Britain.

— Our next PM, supported by a global network of free-market think tanks, will attempt to turn Britain into a Libertarian-Right dystopia by enacting the insane and cruel policies outlined in a book by Jacob Rees-Mogg’s dad.

Conservative Leadership Contest

Rishi Sunak and Liz Truss head-to-head to replace Boris Johnson as prime minister – How their prospects compare.

— As Conservative party members choose between the former chancellor and the foreign secretary, the real question for them now isn’t who would be the better leader but who could win against Labour?

Conservative Leadership Contest

Rishi Sunak or Liz Truss? Polling shows party members want her – but the wider voting public would choose him.

— Will Conservative Party members choose their preferred leader to become the new Prime Minister or the candidate who is more popular with the wider public?

Conservative Leadership Contest

Conservative leadership election: Why tax cuts are an economic gamble.

— Some leadership contenders seem to have big plans for a smaller state.

UK Politics

Boris Johnson’s ignominious end: The difference between ‘big tent’ politics and personalised populism.

— What exactly was “Johnsonism” beyond a few slogans such as “levelling up” and the scandals that attracted the attention? Behind Boris Johnson’s buffoonish exterior, the quick wit and wearisome repartee, lay very little.

Conservative Leadership Contest

Tory leadership hopefuls fail to address the reality that Brexit is a disaster.

— LBC presenter James O’Brien explains everything that needs to be understood about the current Conservative Leadership contestants and their failure to recognise that Brexit is an escalating national tragedy.

Fact-Check

Boris Johnson’s claim of a ‘mandate’ from the people isn’t accurate.

— Fact-check: The ministers’ revolt against Boris Johnson wasn’t anti-democratic – it’s representative democracy in action. As for his claim to have a mandate from the people, it is misguided.

Conservative Leadership Contest

What happens – and when – in the race to replace Boris Johnson.

— Conservative MPs vote in the first round and members in the second.

Refugees

Survey shows British people, and especially Tory voters, feel very differently about some refugees than others.

— A heartening 70% of British voters want to allow Ukrainians into the UK but only 50% feel the same way about Afghans. And the difference is even starker among those who vote Conservative.

Analysis

Boris Johnson’s nightmare day: How to read between the lines in resignation letters from government ministers.

— There was a sense of self-aggrandisement about the resignation letters sent by Sajid Javid and Rishi Sunak that led to Boris Johnson eventually resigning. Overall, there is so much material in all the letters sent to the PM that we could analyse them for years to come.

OPINION

Get Borexit done.

— As the two words “I resign” have not crossed his lips and he is carrying on as though nothing had happened in a very disturbing way... Has Boris Johnson actually resigned?