Have the Tories got amnesia?
Have those MPs wanting to bring back Boris Johnson really forgotten what he was like?
Do they not remember the lies, the parties and the pandemonium?
For slow learners (Tory MPs) here is a quick reminder of Johnson’s time in office: when Covid struck he skipped five meetings of the emergency Cobra committee, he allowed 20,000 residents to die in care homes, he partied while loved ones were barred from going to funerals, he tried to get a sex pest MP off the hook, he lost two ethics advisers, he tried to use Tory funds to pay for the refurbishment of his No10 flat, he tried to stop Owen Paterson’s suspension, he illegally suspended Parliament and he became the first sitting MP to receive a police fine.
These are just the highlights, there is no space to dwell on the lowlights.
His Tory backers can put their fingers in their ears and pull a bag over their heads but they cannot ignore the fact Johnson is still the subject of a Parliamentary inquiry into claims he lied to MPs.
But he’s a “proven winner,” his supporters claim, forgetting that he actually left office with an approval rating of -45% and led them to a trio of by-election defeats.
Johnson Mark 2 will be even worse than Johnson Mark 1.
Now the Tories have bankrupted the country the only thing he can offer is more cuts and higher taxes.
The promises he made on levelling up and investing in public services were already built on sand. Now they are undeliverable.
Austerity has killed the market for Johnson’s brand of knock-off optimism.
Johnson only cares about what is best for himself, not what is best for the country.
While the House of Commons was sitting this week – ie when he was meant to be at work representing his constituents - he was sunning himself in the Caribbean.
The one thing we learned from Liz Truss’s dismal time in Downing Street is that at serious times we need serious people.
The markets took fright because they disliked the reckless way Truss tried to run the economy.
If ever there was a moment when the country needed strong, stable leadership it is now but the Tories are agitating to make the biggest clown in the circus the new ringmaster.
Albert Einstein defined insanity as “doing the same thing over and over again and expecting a different result.” If Johnson were to come back the result would not be different.
The one thing we know about the former PM is he cannot change.
He will always act in his own interests rather than those of the country.
He will always break his word, let down his allies and shun the rules.
He will always bring shame on the office he holds.
And he will always disappoint. It would be insane to bring him back.
