The party’s dysfunctionality comes from the top – and those waiting for the right moment to unseat the PM risk being dragged into the mire
When Aaron Bell attended his grandmother’s funeral, he could not allow himself to hug his grieving parents and siblings.
After she was laid to rest with only 10 mourners present, in accordance with Covid regulations, he turned around and drove the three hours home without stopping for a cup of tea, because those were the rules and in a pandemic they were to be obeyed. His question to Boris Johnson on Monday afternoon was couched in tones of barely suppressed fury: “Does the prime minister think I’m a fool?”
Gaby Hinsliff is a Guardian columnist
