This week’s trio of byelections are a pivotal opportunity in politics to gauge a government’s popularity in the fag end of this parliament. The seats, all held by the Tories, represent three very different English constituencies in the nation’s capital, North Yorkshire and the south-west. For Rishi Sunak, the prospects look grim: scandals involving three Conservative MPs – including the disgraced former prime minister Boris Johnson – triggered the contests, which ominously look like a dry run for the next general election.
The Tories don’t deserve to win this week in any of the seats. The five pledges by which Mr Sunak invited the public to judge his government when casting their ballot are not on track to be met. People are struggling to get by, public services are falling apart and the state’s safety net has holes so large whole families are falling through.
