Easy to read account that is very straightforward in it's telling and allows the narrative to speak for itself without too much commentary and it succeeds I think but given my abhorrence for the man, I am predisposed to find this account particularly damming. I would perhaps have preferred some more depth but that wasn't really what the book was aimed at providing. I do question the editing to an extent since Guto Harri's name was mis-spelled on at least 2 occasions (writing "Hari") and whenever I see this in professionally put together books I wonder if there are other editing errors.

Boris Johnson was touted as the saviour of the country and the Conservative Party, obtaining a huge commons majority and finally 'getting Brexit done'. But, within three short years, he was deposed in disgrace and left the country in crisis. Wilson makes his observation over lunch with Payne in his local pub. Their conversation is one of countless enlightening discussions in the book, which take place amid various levels of Covid restrictions in art galleries, pubs, cafes and community centres. Payne’s passion and personal engagement with his subject seems to charm many of his interviewees into opening up in fascinating ways. Labour’s crisis in the red wall, and the party’s attempts to resolve it, will shape the future of English politics. This engrossing, warm and insightful work is an indispensable guide to how it came about. His limited interest in Parliament, while not uncommon for prime ministers, could be an issue too. He had a massive majority in the Commons, but not in the House of Lords. ‘Can’t you just bosh this on?’ an exasperated Johnson would ask Lords Leader Baroness Evans as legislation stalled there. ‘That’s not how it works,’ she would reply. I loathe everything that Boris Johnson is and stands for. Bombastic, narcissistic, arrogant, convinced the rules only apply to others, self serving and utterly convinced he is right as well as being an opportunistic serial liar. It speaks a lot to the current state of political reality that someone like him, and Trump, were able to rise to the top of the power tree in their respective countries. Given that, it is unsurprising that I read this with a great deal of schadenfreude as well as interest in how events unfolded.In the deadline-driven world of journalism he had a reputation for filing just under the wire. It was the same in government, as one Number 10 adviser explained: ‘One of Boris’s techniques is where the system leans towards taking decisions early, he will try to leave it as long as possible.’ That afternoon things got worse. Sunak was on the brink of resigning. Those at Chequers recalled a fraught Johnson, one saying it was ‘very clear’ that Rishi might walk. A Sunak insider confirmed this was correct, explaining: ‘He believes a lot in upholding rules.’ Such a development would have been disastrous for Johnson – if the Chancellor was quitting over the fine, why wasn’t the Prime Minister?

Connected to this is the notion that Johnson 'got the big calls right'. He constantly repeated this phrase, but did anyone actually buy it? His government had done well on the vaccine rollout and on responding to the Ukraine war, but (especially with the vaccines) it was pretty clear what needed to be done, and it was implementation that mattered rather than decision-making.Stephen Coleman does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment. Partners The Fall of Boris Johnson is the explosive inside account of how a prime minister lost his hold on power. From Sebastian Payne, former Financial Times Whitehall editor and author of Broken Heartlands. Sometimes Cabinet ministers would text Johnson in a frantic lobbying effort during group video calls. Others used WhatsApp to get round the usual channels. Securing face time was seen as a third route to influence, leading to tussles about who would be last with Boris before a decision was taken. In Johnsonland, a yes was not guaranteed to stay a yes; a no need not be the end of the debate. What brought him down within six silly months? “The three Ps”. Owen Paterson, who Boris unwisely tried to protect in wake of a lobbying scandal; Partygate, which he brazened through and almost survived; and Chris Pincher, the whip whose wandering hands goosed a government. There are, however, three stories grounded in fact that are worth retelling when it comes to the question of Sunak, his allies and their role in Johnson’s fall. One involved a man known to almost nobody outside Westminster: Dougie Smith. The Scot had been a constant feature behind the scenes in the long Tory run in government since 2010, variously described in press cuttings as a political fixer and a modern-day Machiavelli. Boris grew to rely on Smith to sort out political problems, according to Number 10 insiders. But Smith was also close to Sunak. He had helped Sunak get selected as the Tory candidate for Richmond (Yorks) for the 2015 election. A Sunak ally said Smith had been ‘continually supportive’ and was ‘definitely a friend’. Which makes what followed so intriguing.