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Hello, I'm Sam Holmes and welcome to Spectator Outland. Every week, a few of our favourite writers read their pieces from the latest issue.

This week, we'll hear from Katie Balls, on who may take Boris Johnson's place if he resigns, Nicholas Farrell on the potential return of Silvio Berlusconi, and Lisa Garnett

on what it's like to date an influencer. First up, Katie Balls. Even Boris Johnson's

longest standing supporters

in I think he might be on the way out.

His admission that he attended a Downing Street Garden Party

when the rest of the country was living under strict COVID rules

has proved the final straw for politicians

ground down by months of negative headlines.

MPs complain that they've had enough

and don't think he can recover, but there are two

outstanding questions that are much harder to answer. When does he go? And who exactly should

replace him? Until now, ministers had been talking up the main local elections as a crunch point.

If it was a disaster for the Conservatives, then a confidence vote could be

brought against Johnson, with a leadership contest to follow it in the summer and the winner in place

by the time of the party conference in Birmingham. But after Johnson's admission, several MPs

think they cannot wait so long for a new leader. The damage keeps accumulating. The bulk of MPs are keen to hold on

until Sue Gray publishes the findings of her inquiry into illicit Downing Street parties, which

could still take weeks. Ahead of Johnson's apology at Prime Minister's questions, government

lips faced an uphill task convincing Tory MPs they should even turn up to hear it.

A lot of my colleagues are saying we shouldn't wait until the local elections to move, says

...