In what it calls an ‘exclusive’ on ‘Defiant Boris’s message to Tory rebels’, the Sun splashes the headline ‘You’ll have to get your hands in blood to get rid of me’. A “key ally” of the prime minister repeats the No 10 briefing line that rebels will have to overturn the “will of the people” if they want to oust Johnson. In tomorrow’s front page: Boris Johnson has sent a defiant message to Tory rebels – vowing to go down fighting after 42 MPs quit his government pic.twitter.com/YORbm6X3KZ — The Sun (@TheSun) July 6, 2022 Johnson’s alleged counter-attack is also the subject of the Daily Mail’s front page, with the headline “Boris stares down mutiny” and a tease of its coverage of “venom” and “plots”. Its columnist, Stephen Glover, laments the inevitable fall of the one-time hero of the Tory party. “The truth is, it’s all over,” he writes. “Boris Johnson must go now – for his own good, for his party’s good and for the good of the country. That may be a harsh way to treat a man who has done some good things, but who said politics was fair?’ Joining the correspondence in the Downing Street bunker is the Express, which has a front-page headline: “The Prime Minister’s last stand: support me or face political oblivion.” It’s a colder world outside the dugout, however, with the Telegraph sounding resigned to the fact that Johnson will have to go. “Fartally wounded prime minister defies cabinet demands to resign,” reads its headline. Also on her front page, Camilla Tominey laments Johnson’s betrayal of his party’s values and his failure to follow Thatcher’s Lodestar. “Much of the criticism leveled at Mr Johnson in recent months has been about both his lack of performance and his lack of judgement. It is not only his character and his abilities that have been called into question, but his conservatism.” “Johnson is fighting for his life” says the Times front page, with the same image as the Telegraph showing the prime minister gritting his teeth and clenching his fists in the Commons. Inside, Max Hastings welcomes the prospect of a more “serious” resident at No 10. “For three years we have allowed ourselves to be governed by people who are largely self-interested, without a credible newsletter for our society. Now we need a prime minister who will restore dignity and self-respect to the country and its government.” “Desperate, deluded PM clings to power,” says the Guardian splash. It says that while Johnson remains in office, much of the party has already begun considering who should replace him, with Sajid Javid the frontrunner. The Financial Times is suitably understated with the breakthrough headline ‘Johnson rocked by cabinet revolt’. The Metro uses one of Johnson’s favorite lines against him in its front page headline: “Get exit done Boris”. “Cabinet coup” says the i, which lines up a gallery of rogue cabinet ministers who, in the wake of Margaret Thatcher’s downfall, went to Johnson on Wednesday to tell him it was time to go. The Daily Record provides a neat summary, however, under the headline ‘Never ending Tory’.
