James Forsyth
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One former cabinet minister observed after the vote, ‘We saw two parties today. The 2017 and 2019 intakes who didn’t understand why they were being asked to vote for this, and the pre-2010 intakes who were more taken with the idea of protecting one of their own.’
This cleavage in the party could become more of a problem in time, especially as veteran MPs sit for traditional Tory seats while the newer intakes are more likely to represent constituencies that have been Labour until recently. This means that their political interests, as well as approaches, are likely to diverge. It will take careful party management, not the forte of this Downing Street operation, to hold this coalition together. Then there is the issue of Angela Richardson, the junior minister who was sacked and then reinstated after refusing to vote with the government on principle. Many of the new intake will have seen how her reputation has been enhanced by refusing to toe the party line. They will now be less likely to vote for something in future just because they are told that it is what Johnson wants.
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