In the past month, they reckon, internet searches for “reducing stress” have gone up by more than 200% and “is stress normal?” by more than 600%.
I reckon the surge in demand could be from the Government’s new ethics adviser. I suppose it’s one of those jobs you can’t turn down. Like, they offer it to you and you can’t really say no. Decent money – but imagine the hours?
Ethics adviser to this lot. They appointed Sir Laurie Magnus just before Christmas. After six months with no ethics adviser (however did they manage?).
Ease yourself into it, Sir Laurie, get Christmas out of the way, get started properly in the New Year.
Then... BANG. They really can’t help themselves can they?
This time, Nadhim Zahawi. They are talking about the inquiry being done by the end of this week. It’s one of those rare moments where everyone thinks he’s toast.
It’s not even, necessarily, the tax stuff that’s the problem here. Although it is a massive problem. In case you missed it, when he was Chancellor – CHAN-CELLOR – Mr Zahawi says he made a “careless but not deliberate error” that led to a tax settlement of about £5million, including a significant fine.
The boss of HMRC has said that you don’t get fined for errors but that’s by the by.
The real problem is the handling of it, the optics. Mr Starmer took full advantage at Prime Minister’s Questions by asking whether Mr Sunak could take the tough decisions, or whether the job is too big for him.
Not helpful. Mr Sunak is becoming increasingly framed by the opposition as a man who can’t control those around him.
At Thursday’s Cabinet away-day – at Chequers – he had to sit down with his deputy, Dominic Raab, who has at least 24 people accusing him of bullying, as well as Mr Zahawi and his fiscal situation. Mr Sunak is said to be livid with his party chairman. Not livid enough to fire him. But livid nonetheless.
This lack of action is not a good look. Mr Sunak was supposed to be putting clear water between himself and the shenanigans of the last-but-one Prime Minister. Boris Johnson, incidentally, was back in the news himself this week for taking an £800,000 loan brokered by a man he later made chairman of the BBC.
It’s all still messy, murky, business as usual. They were supposed to be rebooting things this time round. Like Mr Sunak said, his government “will have integrity, professionalism and accountability at every level”.
Not looking like that though, is it? A gift to Labour and more strength to the line that the Government is completely out of control. And at the centre of it, a weaker and weaker looking Mr Sunak.
“Trust is earned,” he says, “And I will earn yours.”
Has he earned yours yet? No. Me neither.
