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The Guardian - UK
The Guardian - UK
Comment
Nadia Khomami

Wanted: a new PM, a new James Bond, a new Doctor – and a UK that can agree on its leading characters

Bond's Aston Martin, the door to No 10 and the exterior of the Tardis.
‘It seems Britain can no longer agree on who its protagonists are supposed to be.’ Composite: Shutterstock; Getty; Alamy

It’s been the refrain of the week. Why can’t the country hold on to a prime minister – and how can it be that Larry, the Downing Street cat, has managed to outlast six of them? Have we become ungovernable? Is it because one government after another has failed to halt the slide in living standards – or have online attention spans eroded our patience for change?

But Westminster isn’t the only dramatic platform casting for a new lead at the moment. Amid the political chaos this week, I was struck by a social media comment that this is the first time the UK has found itself looking for a new PM, a new James Bond and a new lead for Doctor Who, all at the same time.

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