After the closing ceremony, Johnson summoned his most trusted political allies to an emergency meeting at his Downing Street flat to chart his survival strategy.
Also present were Steve Barclay, his chief of staff, Chris Heaton-Harris, the team leader, Nigel Adams, the cabinet office minister, and a longtime Johnson loyalist, Guto Harri, the communications director. of Downing Street, and Ross Kempsell, a senior politician. appears at the headquarters of the Tory Party.
Also curious was an adviser who has been with Johnson for much of his last 15 years in politics: Sir Lynton Crosby, the Australian pollster and election strategist.
David Canzini, who once worked for Sir Lynton but crossed Downing Street earlier this year, was not present. Not even Oliver Dowden, the president of the Tory Party.
The mood, according to a person familiar with the events, was “business”. “There was work to be done,” the source said. “It wasn’t a feeling of sadness.”
After meeting around 6 p.m., for the next three hours, Johnson and his half-dozen trusted political confidants outlined how he could secure victory in the vote.
It was decided that he would write an individual letter to each Conservative MP. The basic message would be the same for everyone, but he would “point and follow” each one by hand.
“What, like ‘Dear Theresa?'” The Prime Minister asked when the idea was suggested, causing a few smiles in the room.
It was Mr. Johnson who had been instrumental in the downfall of his predecessor, Theresa May. But now she and all the current MPs have their destiny in their hands.