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Boris Johnson’s days as Prime Minister are numbered following a growing backlash towards his erratic and incompetent leadership. It remains to be seen whether the Tory’s humiliating defeat in North Shropshire, the party’s first in nearly two centuries, is the final nail in the coffin. The by-election failure came after Johnson faced the biggest rebellion from his MPs when 98 were among 126 to vote against making Covid passes compulsory in nightclubs and for large venue events.

Two-thirds of Britons disapprove of the government’s performance, while only 20 per cent approve in the latest YouGov poll, in what is the lowest rating since Johnson took office. The bad news is that the number included a higher proportion (43%) of disapproving Tory voters than supporters (40%). The situation is compounded by the fact that vast majority of Britons believe that Downing Street held an illegal Christmas party during a national lockdown last year.

Johnson will face a leadership challenge next year unless there was a “major change” in his leadership warned Treasurer of the 1922 Committee, Sir Geoffrey Clifton-Brown, Veteran Tory MP Sir Roger Gale said the by-election should be seen as a “referendum” on Johnson’s premiership, resulting in “one more strike and he’s out”. Even Party Chairman, Oliver Dowden, admitted voters “were fed up and they gave us a kicking” but insisted he was still an “electoral asset”.

The backlash against his popularist right-wing Government comes at a time when trust in politicians has plummeted to an all time low with no less than 63 per cent of people believing MPs are ‘merely out for themselves’ and only 5 per cent do the best for their country. It also comes after endless headlines about sleaze and parties, held in apparent breach of the Government’s own rules that have undermined efforts to handle the Covid pandemic.

More than at any other time during peace, the UK needs a strong leader rather quasi non-executive president touring the country for photo-ops. Like former US President, Donald Trump, Johnson has never been seen as fit for purpose. Johnson’s laissez-faire approach during the first wave of COVID was disastrous for an already stressed healthcare system, which was exacerbated by his equally unaccountable entourage.

Yet the bubble seems to have been burst with even much of the mainstream media waking up from their normal reticent towards criticising the inept performance by Johnson’s cabinet team. A general theme running through the problems the Government has faced in recent weeks is that it is finally Tory MPs themselves who have been more angered by the response than the issues themselves. Having such a large majority is one of the quirks of British politics that it is only the ruling party who can effectively bring the Prime Minister down.

Although Johnson is expected to use the Christmas recess to try to recuperate from being wounded, the mood within his party is reportedly such that it will not disappear. “He’s finished. The only question is when,” has been a common quotation from among his backbenchers though some appear willing to want to give him a few months to change his ways. But can the country afford to allow the prime minister to wreak even more havoc on the country?

By any yardstick, his time in office has been a complete disaster. Despite the country having what was once one of the most envious healthcare systems in the world, the UK has among the worst record of infections and deaths not only in Europe but even against most countries that are far less developed. Johnson has put personal, economic and often corrupt interests ahead of the welfare of the people and confused whatever policy line he has been following if any.

If everyone is ‘drowning in a tsunami of infections’ it is due to the direct failure of Government policies. Covid cases were allowed to stay high during the summer, with the country suffering more than 6.5 million since so-called Freedom Day on July 19.

This compares with 5.5 m in the first 18 months of the pandemic. Such numbers do not bode well on the public perception of the political classes that further undermines trust in the wake of the latest rash of sleaze scandals and discovery of the hypocrisy of ministers in following rules themselves.

The gap in the values gap between ordinary people and those who govern must be narrowed to achieve much healthier democratic decision-making processes. What is at fault is the deep malaise in how the UK is ruled.