Sue Gray ‘Update’: a broken system allows a finished Prime Minister to continue

The last few weeks in British politics have shown that the country constitutionally has a serial problem. A Prime Minister can lose the confidence of the public, grind Government to a halt as it focuses entirely on ensuring his survival and stay for years. If backbench MPs do not remove the PM, he can stay on for at least 24 months until the next election, wounded. There are no other ways to remove a PM and that, given our current situation, is an outrage.

After the Sue Gray ‘update’ was published, Westminster fell into shambles. It investigated 16 Whitehall lockdown parties, of which a dozen are now under direct police criminal investigation. A remarkable, surely resignation-inducing fact on its own. The report also mentions a 13^th November party in Johnson’s flat, something he denied happened, in Parliament. That would suggest he deliberately misled the Commons – another resignation offence. Upon questions about this, he said he would wait for the full police findings on what he was doing in his own flat.

In his opening statement on the report, Johnson apologised once again but said ‘I get it and I will fix it.’ His vow is to create an Office of the Prime Minister so there can be more oversight over the ever-growing staff at Number 10. To a public outraged by the double standards he has displayed, and his office’s selfishness, this will seem like a hollow name-change only. Either Johnson has no cards left to play, or he has long lost the ability to read the country.

There was one glimmer of hope for Westminster that day. Labour Leader Sir Keir Starmer had an excellent performance, possibly his best as Labour leader. He exquisitely tied together the hurt the public had felt over this scandal, their own sacrifices and the shamelessness of the Prime Minister and Cabinet. That, according to polling, is the mood of the country and he reflected it brilliantly. The contrast he struck between the patriotic sacrifice of ordinary citizens to save the lives of people they would never meet, and Johnson and Downing Streets’ parties was possibly the best conception of national pride any Labour leader has managed in years.

Before Covid and the partying, years ago, Boris Johnson’s greatest asset was his likeability and character – he was seen as the opposite of a career politician, despite being one. He played the lovable buffoon, but surely now he is going to be remembered only, and entirely by this. It’s the kind of scandal that drains trust and support. It will be a permanent scar.

Amidst all this, we face significant and unyielding issues right now that Government needs to focus on. When facing such a tall order as mitigating climate change, preventing a Russian invasion of Ukraine and repairing our public services, the Prime Minister needs the public’s broad trust and support, but currently, that is completely gone. Ultimately, Johnson, despite his 80-seat majority, is now a lame-duck Prime Minister. And that’s to say nothing of the fact that Downing Street and Government appears to be paralysed by this issue – when faced with such an overwhelming self-made crisis, survival is all-consuming.

The Prime Minister has lost confidence, raised mistrust in Government and is just trying to survive each day, very much akin to the end of the premiership of his predecessor, Theresa May. Surely it is obvious that the chances of Johnson winning the next election are abysmally low. Surely Tory MPs must see that change is the only course for their party’s prospects. It would be unfathomable if they do not see the damage Boris Johnson is doing to the country every day through the governing time that is being lost and how public belief in Westminster is waning. He simply must go. While Tory MPs keep their constituents and the country in maddening purgatory, we must never remember who they are or what they are defending

We, therefore, are stuck. 54 willing Tory MPs are required to end this chaos, enact justice and unlock Government and the UK again but we do not have them. The longer this Prime Minister stays, the clearer it is that our system is broken. When we now have such an unfit Prime Minister to lead, with little route to remove him, we must question our traditional practices. A Prime Minister, for the sake of democracy, cannot be un-impeachable, but between elections, that is what we have. This lack of accountability and potential for corruption should worry us deeply. The system needs to change, and the Prime Minister needs to change – now.