As the Commons held its pre-election valedictory debate last Friday, two more senior Conservatives announced that they would be stepping down: the communities secretary, Michael Gove, and the former cabinet minister Dame Andrea Leadsom. They join 15 other current or former Tory cabinet ministers who are resigning seats, bringing the total number of Conservative MPs standing down to 78, higher than in 1997 when the party stood on the brink of a historic defeat.
This is just the latest indicator of the lack of confidence Conservative MPs have in their own party and its leadership; a party that deserves to be dealt a resounding defeat by voters in the polls on 4 July. Its 14 years in government constitute an appalling track record: the Tories have left Britain a poorer country blighted by rising inequality and falling social mobility; a less confident nation with declining influence on the global stage; and a much tougher place in which to lose your job or to fall sick. Their political choices have worsened the impact of the tough global headwinds of a pandemic and rising energy prices.
