Analysis: chancellor’s woes have considerably thinned the field of potential candidates to replace PM
- Boris Johnson defies calls to quit after he and Rishi Sunak fined
- Johnson offers ‘full apology’ for breaking Covid rules – live updates
- How No 10’s alleged parties took place as death toll rose
Has Rishi Sunak’s week from hell saved his neighbour in No 10? Until recently the chancellor was seen as the safest choice to replace Boris Johnson if MPs decided the prime minister’s position was untenable.
The chancellor had positioned himself as the antidote to chaos in Downing Street, using some of Johnson’s most difficult moments to force through his favoured policies such as the national insurance rise.