From that Times opinion piece: I note that most of this paragraph basically means “The multi-million pound backlash/outrage machine the right built wasn’t ever supposed to turn on the Tories”. 
You don’t often see it observed in the papers but that really is the short version of the story: Britain’s wealthy right wingers trained a huge, ferocious attack dog to bite intruders and after it had eaten everything in sight, it mauled its owner too.
There was a hilarious Rafael Behr article after the referendum filed with Cameron Tories discovering that the tabloids are unreasonable, disinterested in truth & hell bent on pushing idiotic agendas. It was adorable, like a baby duck’s first steps.
Re: that Behr article - the author *actually commiserated* with Tories shocked to finally discover the tabloids are vicious and awful, as well. It was a hell of a sight. flyingrodent.blogspot.co.uk/2016/07/this-f… 
From that Behr article. Funnily enough, I’ve never seen any decent analysis of why it never occurred to the Tories that their tame outrage machine might turn on them unexpectedly and bite them in the backside, even though that’s plainly what happened. 
