Damien

For all his faults I don't think Johnson was a natural to the culture war stuff or used it that much. Mostly because although I think his own ego and self-interest override everything else he is naturally a liberally (as in the European, not American, usage of the term) minded politician. That's why he was a good fit for the Mayor of London at the time.

But there is a generation of MP - from the 2010 and 2015 intake - that are more at home with it such as Braverman. Whereas I think Johnson would all try to use divisive language as a last resort in the fact of falling support I think people like Braverman reach for it as a matter of instinct. Their politics is much more about enemies and threats rather than building anything.