Sweet survival? Johnson holds on, but MPs fear public anger over living costs
The Guardian|May 21, 2022
Long before partygate, Boris Johnson was known among colleagues for the superpower of survival ; the ability to shrug offsetbacks that led his Eton contemporary David Cameron to liken him to a greased piglet.
Heather Stewart
Sweet survival? Johnson holds on, but MPs fear public anger over living costs

This weekend, as scores of junior colleagues reeled from the news that just one of the 126 fines over Partygate was levied on the prime minister, his supporters were celebrating what appeared to be another great escape.

Shortly after finishing a call with the Ukrainian leader, Volodomyr Zelenskiy, on Thursday morning, what Johnson had long been telling friends was formally confirmed to No 10: he will receive no further fines, aside from the one he was handed for sharing a birthday cake with colleagues in June 2020.

With a well-timed announcement of structural changes aimed at showing he has got a firmer grip on No 10, and the promise of action on the cost of living, Johnson now hopes to put the parties row behind him.

He was back to rattling through his greatest hits in yesterday’s speech to Welsh Conservatives, from claiming he “got the big calls right” on Covid, to attacking “Corbynistas” – though to a noticeably muted response from the audience.

He still has two more hurdles yet to surmount, however – the final report of the formidable Sue Gray, who has already warned Johnson she plans to name him; and an inquiry by the House of Commons privileges committee into whether he misled parliament.

One Boris-sceptic backbencher suggested that while Gray’s report might solidify things in a few MPs’ minds, by setting out the unedifying details of the parties in black and white, it was unlikely to hit home with Johnson or his team.

This story is from the May 21, 2022 edition of The Guardian.

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This story is from the May 21, 2022 edition of The Guardian.

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