Comment: As Boris nears exit, it would be wrong to assume things will get better
As his administration started to crumble around him on Tuesday afternoon, many of Boris Johnson’s critics would have assumed his entire focus would be on saving his own skin.
And while the PM did indeed make a dash around the Commons tearoom in an unsuccessful bid to shore up support, he also took time out to meet with a grieving family from the Black Country.
The family of Ryan Passey, a 24-year-old from Quarry Bank who was knifed to death in 2017, were in Westminster to lobby ministers for improved support for victims’ families in serious crime cases where an acquittal verdict is given.
The fact that in the midst of a crisis, with his premiership dangling by a thread, Mr Johnson put his troubles to one side and heard them out, well, it meant the world to them.
It is a side of the Prime Minister that most of his opponents – including those in the broadcast media – are loath to countenance.
It is also a side that will be sorely missed when he is no longer in Number 10.
Mr Johnson is the leader who will always be remembered as the man who delivered Brexit. Many will praise him for launching a levelling up agenda that was sound in theory if not in delivery.
But in the days ahead he will perhaps reflect that his demise has been largely of his own making.
He has been economical with the truth to say the least, and his stewardship of the Government has been poor since the Owen Paterson scandal last November.
The Prime Minister has taken his eye off the ball, and to the great frustration of many who voted Conservative in 2019, his grand plans for the country are unlikely ever to get off the ground.
It would be wrong, however, to automatically assume that things will get better once Mr Johnson has left Downing Street.
The Tories face the horrific prospect of limping through the remainder of this Parliament, struggling to deliver a mandate the majority of this country were firmly behind.
Then when the next general election comes around, who knows what shenanigans the pact-loving Lib Dems and Labour will cook up.
One thing is for sure. It’s a safe bet that Brexit will be in danger – despite Sir Keir Starmer’s pledge to the contrary.
