There’s something rotten about the state of the Commons. A record number of MPs have been sanctioned and/or resigned their seats in disgrace
In the rich – but not always happy and glorious – history of our legislature, there’s been an Addled Parliament, a Bad Parliament, a Barebones Parliament, a Mad Parliament and a Merciless Parliament.
Will the current one, which began with the big Tory win in December 2019 and must be dissolved by December 2024, be remembered as the Worst Parliament? Exhibit one for the prosecution is the debauched reign of the moral vacuum called Boris Johnson. He is the only prime minister to be found guilty of committing a criminal offence while at Number 10. Doubly ignominious, he is also the first to have held that great office and been catapulted out of the Commons after being found guilty of serially lying to parliament. Though the charge list begins with the debaucheries of the former prime minister, it does not end there. While most periods have their examples of low behaviour in high places, this one stands out for the profusion of them.
Andrew Rawnsley is Chief Political Commentator of the Observer
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