Okay, here’s a question for you. What would have to happen, what set of circumstances or sequence of events would have to take place for Boris Johnson’s government to actually take action on something? We know his track record for punishing poor behaviour. I don't necessarily mean that. Although it is supporting evidence. I mean, from the severe reprimand he dished out to Paterson (trying to disband the ruling body to get him off) to reminding Priti Patel of the standards expected in public life by tossing her bullying report straight in the bin, to Barnard Castle’s “I consider the matter closed”. All of that relates to battling scandal and dodging accountability. But what would it take for them to take action in the *other* pillar of their role: Governing. Look back at the delays in ostracising Oligarchs with clear connections to the Kremlin. Recall in wonder the sluggish response to shutting down flights from India. Marvel at Johnson's inability to impose a lockdown ahead of that Christmas that almost immediately resulted in one of the highest death rates in the world by the end of the following month. One wonders if Johnson truly wants to cling on to power at any cost, or if "resigning" merely sits in a long list of otheractions he can’t quite bring himself to bother with. So in lieu of action, we get promises. We get commitments. Vague, ambiguous things in a future it’s not quite clear how we get to. In response to the Cost of Living Crisis, it’s “nothing is off the table” and “more help in the months ahead”. We're looking into what we can do about that. There's no war-room response. No 6pm Number-10 Briefing. No acknowledgement that pensioners and Universal Credit claimants are falling into the red, now, today, as a result of doubling energy bills, higher taxes and eye-watering inflation they could never have been expected to budget for. Gas and Electric are scheduled to increase by another thirty percent in October. Those people need help now. And they need proper help. They need another £50 or £100-a-month to bat back the onslaught of red letters coming their way. They're already working. They're already using foodbanks. Frankly, having the £350m-bus guy commit to helping them in some non-specific way in an ambiguous timeframe is not the comfort they need. Film at 11: is it possible to wrap the vacuous optimism of Brexit around economic desperation? Can you preach "Sunlit Uplands!" to residents of a hurricane ravaged mobile home park? Boris Johnson seeks to find out... Times like this, traditionally, you'd look to No.11 to effect change. To implement a suite of solutions; tax cuts or financial support. Appropriate Effects to the Cause. Action that reflects the challenges we're facing. That doesn't seem to be happening here. Sunak's sheen has dulled, we all know that. Seen now as a wounded, paradoxical, tax-dodging, tax-hiking Chancellor, few have faith he possesses the toolkit to navigate this. Indeed, with Rishi Sunak, it comes down to this: Whether you think he's an out-of-touch billionaire or you think he reaaaaally wants to do the Windfall Tax but he's just being blocked by Number 10 "for ideological reasons"; or you think: even if he *did* have the vision to, let's say, raise Universal Credit, drop N.I. and launch a one-time televised Plebs-In-Need where middle and high earners can toss £100 in the kitty to help out - you can't help but doubt that someone so publicly neutered by No10 has the political capital to bring people with him on any of those solutions now. Anything he does will be viewed through the prism of "ahh, he's just doing that to win people over again since his tax dodge shaming". The outcome is self evident. We have a lame-duck Prime Minister who can't be fucked to do anything. A Chancellor who appears incapable of doing anything. We have a Carry-On Cabinet who can scarcely keep the wine and cheese out their mouth long enough to lie that "people can work their way out of this". And while Rome burns, and they all point to a future, just over the hill, when everything will get better, somehow, in some way, Christ Is Coming - the rest of us look on, swilling our newly state-approved Buy-One-Get-One-Free 3L of £2.98 Cider and respond: Anytime lads, no rush or anything.
