I feel obligated, as a recent resident of the Island Kingdom, to say a little something about the latest round of Tory backstabbing, which has resulted in the disposal of Iain Duncan Smith (known as IDS), and seems fair to end up with Michael Howard as Leader of the Opposition.

The BBC has an unusually fair summary of events here. The Daily Telegraph, aka Torygraph, has a knowing insiders news-story here.

It seems clear that IDS was a goner once there were 25 names on a petition to vote on his leadership; Boris Johnson in an unusually heavy-hearted essay explains that, after all, the Tories are such a tiny band that 25 is to all intents and purposes a plurality. Boris explains in succinct fashion how he in the best English public school tradition stabbed deep for the heart when a sign of weakness was detected in the leader. Well, its a tradition, I suppose, so it has that going for it. Boris, however, explains that "now is the time for all good men to come to the aid of their party." Which reminds me of something another Johnson should have said: Sir, party loyalty is the last refuge of the political scoundrel.

My biggest surprise is the ease and speed with which Michael Howard is moving towards coronation as Leader of the Tories. I had assumed, quite mistakenly, that David Davis would put up more of a fight. It all makes me smell a conspiracy. It was just too bloody easy. The fix was, somehow, in.

Anyway, Howard is an interesting chap, a brilliant debater, tough on crime, a Jew from Wales (the first Jew to lead a British party since Disraeli, I imagine), committed Atlanticist, and has the blonde wife which it is de rigeur for any Tory leader to have attached to his arm. (See his BBC profile, and this Torygraph profile by Alice Thomson.) Not too long ago Howard was judged well out of the running for any leadership position, this usually be attributed to a remark by Anne Widdecombe (Shadow Home Secretary after the Blair triumph over Major) that Howard "had something of the night about him."

And now Howard could well be the next Prime Minister, and Anne is sulking on the backbenches in her new platinum dyed hair. It's a funny old world.

Perhaps she wants to marry.