A minister who has admitted to using cocaine being sent out to announce a clampdown on laughing gas. Totally normal. A home secretary who can’t be trusted to stay on message. Totally normal. A government prepared to break international law by deporting refugees. Totally normal. An environment secretary permanently at war with herself and the farming community. Totally normal. A chancellor unbothered by a 4% hit to GDP from Brexit. Totally normal. A prime minister who finds all the above totally normal. Totally normal.
It’s sometimes easy to forget just how toxic the Conservative brand really is. How low the bar for normal politics has become. So when we come across a prime minister who appears to manage some of the basics – who gets a few things half-right without crashing the economy, lying through his teeth or starting a civil war in his own party – it’s tempting for some to invest him with superhuman powers. An alien from another world. When in reality he’s only doing what any country has a right to expect from a leader. Strip back the polls and even though Rishi Sunak’s own ratings are improving, those of his party are still through the floor. It turns out you can quite like him but reckon the Tories are out of time and ideas.
