Boris Johnson’s march on Downing Street is unstoppable – rival candidates are already pitching for jobs in his cabinet

Johnson has been strategically tight-lipped about his plans if he wins power, including how he’s going to handle the Brexit debacle

The striking thing about this contest so far is the paucity of policy (AP)

Even Boris Johnson’s rivals for the Conservative crown seem to be planning for the aftermath of his coronation. There will still be a contest; a plot by Tory whips for Johnson’s opponents to stand aside so he can be rubber-stamped by party members in a confirmatory ballot has rightly been dumped. Too painful a reminder of Theresa May’s unopposed accession in 2016.

Yet the Tories are in danger of repeating the mistake. Johnson is in such a commanding position that Tory MPs either row in behind him or risk only coded criticism in the hope that will not bar them from a ministerial job. The honourable exception is the impressive Rory Stewart, who told the BBC’s Andrew Marr Show yesterday he would not serve in a Johnson cabinet, as he pledged to “speak uncomfortable truths” about “who do you trust to be prime minister”.

Other contenders seem to be treating Johnson with kid gloves. Michael Gove, who told us three years ago that Johnson “cannot provide the leadership or build the team for the task ahead”, now wants to bury the hatchet with him rather than in him. Gove told The Sunday Times he “would absolutely work with Johnson in any way that he wanted to work with me”, hinting he would like the job of housing secretary if he fails to land the top one.

In the same paper, Sajid Javid made what some will see as a pitch to be Johnson’s chancellor. If true, he joins a queue that already in includes Liz Truss and Jacob Rees-Mogg. Dominic Raab had to deny his backing for Johnson’s plan for an Australian-style points system on immigration was a pitch to be his home secretary. Jeremy Hunt told Marr he would serve Johnson loyally and hoped Johnson would reciprocate.

The striking thing about this contest so far is the paucity of policy. Early on, some candidates floated ideas. But the election has become all about Johnson, as the smaller planets orbit around the sun king.

The man who as a child wanted to be “king of the world” has said precious little about what he would do if he wins power. His launch speech last week was a policy-free zone. He didn’t mention his one big idea: a tax cut for the rich, or say how the £10bn cost would be met. Nor has he yet been questioned about it in public. He didn’t appear in Channel 4’s debate last night and won’t appear before Westminster journalists today. By the time he takes part in the BBC’s leadership debate tomorrow night, Johnson will hope Stewart has been eliminated two hours earlier in the second ballot of Tory MPs.

Remarkably, given the dominance of Brexit, Johnson has not yet answered the “how” question: how will he deliver his pledge to leave the EU by 31 October if parliament still doesn’t support a deal but blocks no deal?

When Johnson doesn’t need to garner votes, the temptation will be not to tie his own hands by outlining policies. Indeed, keeping it vague widens his appeal. As one Tory MP told me: “Boris is cleverly allowing everyone to project on to him what they want him to be.” Esther McVey, eliminated in last week’s first round, is backing Johnson, claiming he has endorsed her “blue-collar conservatism” – another cost-free, vague pledge.

Other Tory MPs, grasping for a reason to back the winner, tell me they have become convinced Johnson is a One Nation Conservative. But which candidate is pledging to retain our current two nations?

The Tory party, and the country, needs to know which Boris Johnson will turn up at Downing Street. Will it be the liberal Conservative twice elected mayor in a “Labour city”, a pro-immigration figure who backed an amnesty for illegal immigrants? Or Boris 2.0, who misled the country during the 2016 referendum with a promise of £350m a week for the NHS, failed to impress as foreign secretary and likened Muslim women wearing the burqa to letter boxes and bank robbers?

That’s before we get on to detailed policy. Would Johnson shut down parliament to force through a no-deal exit? He has sent conflicting signals to different Tory MPs. Would he still “lie down in front of those bulldozers” to stop a third runway being built at Heathrow airport? There are hints to the contrary.

There are dangers for the Tories in not debating the big ideas the next government will need. Although there is no appetite for a general election until Brexit has been resolved, one could easily be triggered this autumn if Johnson pushed for no-deal. He might even embrace it as a means of winning a mandate for such an exit.

Some Tories privately believe an election this year is inevitable. They hope that seeking public support for no-deal would see off Nigel Farage’s threat. But they forget the threat of Jeremy Corbyn, and another lesson from the May years: an election, even in the heat of the Brexit battle, would not be a single-issue affair. May called a “Brexit election” in 2017 but Corbyn made it about austerity. If the Tories are not careful, history could repeat itself.