This fiscal fiasco hasn’t dimmed the PM’s enthusiasm for bootleg Thatcherism. Only voters can scare the party straight
Ideology is a drug for Tory leaders. It can enhance their performance against internal rivals and they like to indulge socially. But dependency is a path to ruin.
Brexit started a pattern of problematic use. Hardline Euroscepticism was potent stuff. Theresa May thought she could handle it, but got hooked. Boris Johnson was hardly a high-functioning addict, but he was at least able to discern some political realities through the fog of intoxicating dogma.
