The prospect of Johnson’s downfall is joyful. The threat of what may follow is not | John Harris

The prime minister's successor would likely pursue a return to Thatcherism and the bleakest of Tory values

For proof of how dangerous Boris Johnson's leadership has become, consider this: public health policy is now merely a subplot in the horrendous drama engulfing the Conservative party. Over the weekend, as government advisers urged caution over Covid restrictions, the prime minister's allies suggested that the imminent lifting of England's remaining curbs would launch his fightback. But an unnamed minister cited in the Spectator thought that binning the last rules could neatly coincide with the prime minister's resignation. This, it was said, would give him an opportunity to claim a huge job had been done and depart with dignity".

But as with most of what we are hearing from senior Tories, the suggestion seemed to have another meaning: his exit is imagined not just as the end of Johnson's time at the top, but the curtain falling on a period of interventionist, big-spending government, so normal Tory service can be resumed.