oters are starting to see Liz Truss as

The increasingly frantic tone of the leadership election suggests that the Conservatives are making a momentous decision that will define their party for years to come.

In fact, the idea that the Tories face a grand strategic choice is an illusion. With two years until the next General Election, the new leader’s only option is to turn out as many of Boris Johnson’s 2019 supporters as they possibly can.

Over the past decade, the Tory vote has become much more working class and culturally conservative – more Brexity – than when David Cameron became Prime Minister (a result, ironically, of his decision to hold the EU referendum that ended his premiership). It will not be easy to reassemble Boris Johnson’s big, diverse voting coalition.