At a time when the UK faces a cost-of-living crisis at home and a deeply worrying situation abroad, we need a strong Prime Minister.
Instead, we have a lame duck premier focused on saving his job.
One hundred and forty eight Tory MPs - 41 per cent of Conservative parliamentarians - went against him in the vote of confidence.
He’s in a worse position than Theresa May who survived her 2018 confidence vote but had to step down as PM six months later.
It’s often said normal political rules don’t apply to Johnson – that nothing sticks to him. But remember he’s in dire straits just two-and-a-half years after he was voted in with a bumper 80-seat majority.
The fact he’s in big trouble was exemplified by crowds booing him as he entered St Paul’s Cathedral over the Jubilee weekend.
People remain rightly angry that in his arrogance he broke his own Covid laws while the rest of us made sacrifices for the sake of our loved ones and the greater good.
To make matters worse, Johnson then lied about what had been going on. Trust and the truth have gone.
And it’s not over yet. The cross-party Privileges Committee will examine whether Johnson knowingly misled parliament over Partygate.
Later this month he must face parliamentary by-elections in the traditionally Labour-facing seat of Wakefield picked up by the Tories in 2019 and the Conservative seat of Tiverton and Honiton where the Lib Dems fancy their chances.
Johnson will say he intends to focus on bread-and-butter issues like surging fuel and energy prices hitting everyday families – and he may have a few gimmicks up his sleeve – but his whole focus will be on saving his own skin.
It’s not good for a community like Northwich either. Despite lots of talk of levelling up we have no evidence of it so far. Our collapsed train station still won’t be accessible when rebuilt and we must compete against other towns for funding to build a new Winnington Bridge.
Despite lagging in the polls and presiding over a warring parliamentary party, Johnson may go for a risky snap general election in an effort to bolster his authority. If that happens, my party is ready to take him on.
A Labour government would fix Johnson’s mess and help people through this devastating cost-of living crisis.
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