Act in haste and you risk repeat of past disasters

FOR almost 122 years, since it was first published, the Daily Express has striven to be a source of common sense. So it is gratifying but not altogether surprising that Tory MPs loyal to Boris Johnson have been circulating an historic Express front page from 1990 to remind their colleagues of the consequences of losing their spine and not sticking behind their leader.

The edition is from the day after Margaret Thatcher announced she would be resigning as prime minister and leader of the Conservative Party following a rebellion led by europhile Michael Heseltine.

“What have you done?” we asked the Conservative MPs that day, with right thinking people in Britain still in shock at the betrayal.

Their despicable actions not only robbed the UK of one of its greatest prime ministers, but in the end gave us 13 years of Labour government and deeper integration into the EU project.

Now, remarkably, MPs are wondering if they should ditch Mr Johnson over a piece of cake and a drink in his garden.

They need to remember the historic mistake of 1990 and the damage it did to their own party and Britain as a whole.

They also should not forget Mr Johnson is a great Prime Minister – he got Brexit done, freed us from the EU, led with distinction through Covid, not least with the vaccine rollout, and is now getting the country back on its feet quicker than other G7 nations.

It is time that some of our political classes were more like Express readers with a sense of proportion and perspective as well as a willingness to stick by a leader who has more than delivered for this great country.