THE SNP's chief whip Owen Thompson has told of how UK Government business is "grinding to a halt" following an unprecedented stream of ministerial resignations.
Boris Johnson agreed to resign as Conservative Party leader on Thursday but is plotting to hang on as Prime Minister until October when a new leader would be elected.
He is in the process of appointing a new Cabinet with Shailesh Vara named as the new Northern Ireland Secretary and former business secretary Greg Clark appointed as Levelling Up secretary in place of Michael Gove, who was sacked by Johnson on Wednesday evening.
James Cleverly has been appointed Education Secretary, replacing Michelle Donelan who lasted just over 30 hours in the post.
Speaking exclusively to The National on Thursday in Westminster, Thompson (above) described the whole affair as an "absolute shambles" and said the Government was no longer functioning as a cost-of-living crisis rages on.
He said: "We’ve seen at least two or three Bill committees adjourned today [Thursday] because there are no ministers to cover them.
"There was a Genetic Modification Bill committee and Levelling Up [scheduled for today], both of which we’re working our way through. The whole thing is an absolute shambles.
"While a lot of the high-profile stuff is around the resignations, there is a pretty significant impact to just the running of normal business because it’s just grinding to a halt.
"There was a question in the Chamber this morning about how the Government is going to function because it can’t with the lack of ministers. How he can fill the vacancies I’ve got no idea.
"We are going into a recess but Government doesn't stop working, they need people in these positions and they’re not going to find them unless they change the Prime Minister."
Thompson said the fact the Prime Minister is trying to stay on until the autumn shows there are huge problems with the Westminster system.
He insisted the Tories do not have a mandate to bring in a a so-called caretaker Prime Minister, nor do they have one to choose who the next PM is after the summer.
He said: "There’s been some talk of bringing back Theresa May [as caretaker], there’s talk of Dominic Raab, there’s been talk in the past about Iain Duncan Smith coming in as a caretaker.
"But they’re very good at talking about mandates; where is the mandate for this? There just isn’t one. That’s going to be an interesting dynamic going forward."
Robert Buckland has been appointed Welsh Secretary, replacing Simon Hart who quit yesterday.
Kit Malthouse, former policing minister, has been made the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster, meaning he is now the Prime Minister's second in command in the Cabinet Office.
Thompson said it was still possible there could be a general election but thinks this is now less imminent than it might have been before.
He added: I've thought for a while it was probably Johnson’s only chance to hold on, I think he has now got beyond that point where it could be him that makes it happen unless he goes absolutely rogue and instead of resigning he just declares he’s going to see the Queen to call an election.
"But then even in a situation where we’re looking at a new Tory leader come their conference in September, again where is the mandate for them to be the Prime Minister?
"They’ve not got one, it’s like Gordon Brown where there was a lot of pressure on him to go to the polls and he didn’t and then lost.
"The chances of an election have not gone but they’ve probably moved from being immediate to slightly further down the line.
"A lot of it will be down to what happens to Labour, there's a lot of factors still in the mix here that could see us at the polls by the end of the year."
We are still yet to find out if Labour leader Keir Starmer will be charged by Durham Police for allegedly breaking lockdown rules. He has said he will step down if he is fined.
