Yesterday, as Liz Truss announced her resignation, she propelled herself into the history books as Britain’s shortest-serving prime minister. This was a record previously held by one George Canning, who died of pneumonia in 1827. This PM however was infamously outlived by a lettuce. This is what happens when idolatory to a particular political ideology is put ahead of common sense, experience, and economic intelligence at a time of global instability.
Any hope that the psychodrama would soon end, however, was dashed as we heard that Boris Johnson was cutting short his holiday to throw his hat into the leadership ring, apparently ignoring that small matter of a pending Parliamentary Privileges Committee investigation. What began as a probable kite-flying mission by his supporters has turned deadly serious. If Johnson does gain over 100 MP votes to reach the membership ballot (which he would probably win), shortly after returning to Downing Street he could then be found guilty of misleading Parliament. And then what — move on to prime minister number four for 2022? Even as most of us wake in shock at the bizarre notion of a Johnson return suddenly looking serious, with Boris supporters already rivalling Sunak’s, nothing should surprise us. Who needs costly BBC dramas when you can switch on and watch the endless shenanigans of the Tory party?
