The spectacle of Boris Johnson at bay has caused deep rumblings, and some soul-searching, within the Tory Party, which likes to think of itself as Britain at its best – solid, honest, dependable – providing good, no-nonsense government no matter the circumstances. While acknowledging that they sometimes got things wrong and may even on occasion have failed to pick the right leader, the Tories remain convinced that they routinely act in the nation’s best interests and are guided above all by notions of Christian morality. The party now has to confront the fact that its leader is not what used to be called a “decent” man – decent in the way that John Major, William Hague and Michael Howard were decent.