Show them they’re not invincible

Boris Johnson may have the morals of a polecat in his private life, but while occupying the highest public office, the British people have a right to expect honesty and probity.

Yet when it comes to doing the right thing, our Prime Minister is an empty space.

Former Attorney General Dominic Grieve hit the button yesterday when he described Mr Johnson as “a vacuum of integrity”.

There is no integrity in doing dodgy PPE deals for Tory mates. No honesty in trying to kit out the Downing Street flat at someone else’s expense.

No probity in attempting to brush sleazy goings-on under the carpet in the hope no one will notice.

And there is no judgement in a PM who casts aside the encrypted official mobile phone he is offered in favour of the private unsecured one he has always used.

That shows not only a cavalier disregard for his own safety but also for that of the nation.

It will not just be the BBC reading his text messages, but Moscow and Beijing too.

And now we have the unseemly spectacle of a briefing versus blogpost war between the Prime Minister and his former top aide Dominic Cummings.

UNSAVOURY

This spat demonstrates – if ever we doubted it before – just how much this unsavoury duo deserve each other.

But Britain has more to worry about than a pair of Brexit buddies falling out.

We have the still smouldering fag end of a pandemic to cope with, an economy to rescue, and a roadmap to recovery to navigate.

And the national leader should be devoting all his time and energy to guiding us through that minefield instead of squabbling with last year’s hired help.

But it is not just Boris Johnson who makes us wonder about the moral compass of Tory prime ministers. David Cameron’s is also spinning like a top as he tries to line his pockets with lobbying cash.

It is as if the old Etonian chums think they are above the rules. They cannot seem to grasp that the rules apply all the more to those who make them.

It is the arrogance of Tories who believe the Conservatives are the natural party of government, that they rule by right, not by public permission.

It is that arrogance which allows them to mire themselves in sleaze because they think they are beholden only to themselves and there will be no consequences.

And that shows contempt for the voters who gave them a second chance in 2015. And another in 2017. And a third in 2019.

Now those same voters have a chance to show the Tories how wrong they are at local elections on May 6.

It is time they were given a bloody nose at the ballot box to remind them that they are not invincible.

The Tories have had their three strikes.

And the next time voters go to the polls in a General Election, they should be out.