Tory MPs are publicly contemptuous of Matt Hancock, but they may soon be privately envious. There are worse fates for a politician than being force-fed kangaroo testicles and ostrich anus in return for a very large cheque. While the disgraced former health secretary is down under consuming exotic genitalia, Conservative MPs are preparing for the ritual humiliation of facing aggrieved constituents demanding to know why the government is making their lives even more difficult.
The signature domestic event of late autumn is the fiscally brutal package of tax rises and spending cuts expected from the chancellor in 11 days’ time. This will be a bushwhacker trial of the entire Conservative party conducted in front of a jury that is already telling pollsters that they can’t wait to evict the Tories.
