Today’s news summary – Paper Talk
Thursday’s front pages are dominated by one story – the slow and excruciating collapse of Boris Johnson’s government.
Boris Johnson clings to power – ‘desperate and deluded’
“Desperate” and “deluded” is the Guardian’s take on Boris Johnson’s attempt to cling to power. The paper says the PM is “locked in an unprecedented standoff” with his own cabinet, as he hunkers down and tries to ride out the storm.
The Daily Telegraph says the prime minister is “mortally wounded” – after a day “unlike anything in modern political history.” The paper looks ahead to a potential second confidence vote in the PM – the paper quotes figures from Tory whips’ office which says the PM would get just 65 votes from a total of 360 Conservative MPs.
A “day of chaos” ends with the sacking of Micheal Grove, according to the Times, the paper agrees with the sentiment that the PM is “fighting for his life”. The paper says even his one of his most loyal supporters Jacob Rees-Mogg has “reservations” about whether the PM can continue.
The paper’s cartoon shows Boris Johnson lying in a coffin, his hand raised in the air, asking “can I keep the wallpaper?”
The Times also claims that the newly appointed Chancellor Nadhim Zahawi has been secretly planning a bid for Tory leadership “for months”.
The Financial Times reflects on how quickly the PM’s authority has “drained away” – saying he cut a diminished figure at yesterday’s PMQs.
The paper’s editorial says the PM’s departure is “long overdue” – after months of “drift and disarray.”
The i newspaper says the PM has been “humiliated” – with those quitting “reading the last rites” on his political career.
Tory meltdown: Get Exit Done
The Metro and the Daily Mirror use the same headline – “Get Exit Done”. The Mirror says it’s “time for the curtain to fall” on the PM. The paper’s editorial describes his attempts to hang on as “supreme vanity”.
For the Daily Mail, the PM’s determination to “stare down” his cabinet is a “stunning show of defiance” – with the PM “digging in for a fight”.
Whilst the Daily Express says it’s his “last stand” with the PM warning his party to “back him or face political oblivion.”
The Sun quotes an ally of the prime minister, who tells the paper he has a “defiant message” for the rebels: “You’ll have to dip your hands in blood to get rid of me.”