The UK faces economic recession, a major war in Europe, a potentially disastrous unravelling of the Northern Ireland Accord, a fracturing of national unity in the United States of America, shrinking growth in China potentially adding to global inflation, surging variants of Covid, poverty rates in the UK rising, etc., …and how does the Tory party respond? It decided to remove a sitting prime minister and is currently choosing his replacement from a group of youthful candidates, not one of whom appear to have the experience, the gravitas, the intelligence, or the character to assume the role of PM during this time of explicit crisis.  

For the Tory party to present these candidates to the nation is an insult to the people. It shows flagrant disrespect for the office and reveals a dismissive elitist approach to governing that takes your breath away. Sunak, Truss, Mordaunt, Badenoch, Tugendhat are all failed comedians who would be banned from the Edinburgh festival. They would be told to polish up their acts and come back in a year or two when they’re ready. Can you imagine this group of candidates standing in the same photo op as Lawson, Heseltine, Clarke, Howe, Brittan, Tebbit, Hurd, Major and Carrington? 

If the current crop of candidates for PM were in this same photo op they would only be doing so as cabinet secretaries or junior aides to the minister. If Lord Howe called out the name Sunak it would be for Sunak to bring over his suitcase; as for the likes of Mordaunt and Truss, Thatcher would not have trusted either of them to check the copy of one of her speeches, let alone promote them to a senior minister and allow them to give one of their own speeches from the dispatch box.

To watch these petty careerists scramble around to achieve the highest civilian office in the UK – with their respective backers slavering away in the background – is quite sickening. I accept we live in a party system, not a presidential system. But I’d happily (and I suspect I’m not alone in this) like to have a general election and be able to register my disgust by kicking this bunch of chancers out.