Boris Johnson and Liz Truss are writing a new chapter in the book of former prime ministers entitled: “Don’t blame me, I was only the PM.”
All former party leaders – including those who don’t make it to Downing Street – inevitably try to put the best gloss on their record. But Johnson and Truss are taking this to extraordinary new lengths, rewriting the history of their premierships when the ink is barely dry on them.
They and their allies portray them as victims. Nadine Dorries attacks on TalkTV “the elite, the faux political intellectuals” who “plotted to depose” Johnson and have failed to achieve “the Rishi bounce” in the opinion polls they expected. She announces she will stand down at the general election – a decision perhaps made easier by Johnson proposing her for a peerage in his still delayed resignation honours list.
