Express & Star

Star comment: A government on its last legs is not an easy one to lead

Rishi Sunak has repeatedly promised to restore integrity back to politics.

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Rishi Sunak's administration has an 'end of days' feel to it

Yet with each passing week his task appears to get just that little bit harder.

The Prime Minister had barely got his feet under the desk when a scandal hit over his appointment of Suella Braverman as Home Secretary.

A bullying row followed involving claims made by former Chief Whip Wendy Morton, which remain under investigation to this day.

Mr Sunak's deputy, Dominic Raab, is also being probed over bullying, with reports suggesting that at least 24 civil servants are involved in formal complaints against him.

And to top it all off the Conservative Party chair and former Chancellor, Nadhim Zahawi, has been sacked in the wake of allegations over his tax affairs.

If the Prime Minister wanted to draw a line under the chaos of Boris Johnson's premiership, he's gone a strange way about it.

Despite the fact that Mr Sunak has only been in office for around four months, there is already an 'end of days' feel about his administration.

As soon as he puts out one fire, another one starts up.

Meanwhile there is no end in sight for the myriad of problems facing the country, most notably the cost of living crisis.

Perhaps the saddest indictment is the fact that the general public's view of politicians is now largely devoid of anger and recriminations.

Most people have simply given up – and trust in our elected members must be approaching an all time low.

The likelihood is that Mr Sunak went all out to get into Number 10 because he knew he was never likely to get another chance.

He may well have started with the very best of intentions.

But he is finding out the hard way that leading a government on its last legs is no easy task.

The plight of Flybe shows just how fragile the travel industry remains after the bruising it received during the pandemic.

Demand may well have rebounded significantly, but for Flybe the damage had already been done.

The good news for travellers is that other carriers have at least stepped up to help, and staff have hope after it was revealed Ryanir is looking to pick up some of those who were made redundant.

The key advice for those booking travel is to ensure you book with a company that is ABTA registered.

And if possible, always pay by credit card as it gives customers more protection and provides a better chance of getting a refund if things go wrong.