WHEN Rishi Sunak became Prime Minister 17 months ago, he became the fourth PM since July 2016.
In comparison, the previous five residents of 10 Downing Street stretched back 37 years.
Nothing sums up the collective madness gripping Tory MPs more than the plots afoot to topple Rishi and install a new leader before the next election.
Conservative PMs seem to arrive more frequently than trains from Euston to Manchester.
Penny Mordaunt — this week’s favourite — is an impressive politician.
And she could prove a successful Tory leader in future years.
But the notion that she will transform Tory fortunes now is absurd.
She was comprehensively defeated in the leadership election two years ago.
Instead, any move to install her will make the plight of the Conservatives even worse.
And the most likely outcome would be to trigger an immediate General Election.
The polls are truly dire for Rishi. To suggest otherwise is a fool’s errand.
And May’s local elections are certain to be incredibly grim.
But the Tories’ only hope is to unite behind the PM and focus ruthlessly on the issue that keeps struggling voters awake at night — the economy.
Labour has not sealed the deal with our money. It is not too late for Tory fortunes to be revived.
But for plotting MPs, the penny must finally drop.
CONSPIRACY theories are now not just the work of a few cranks.
Many are the work of Vladimir Putin and his army of Kremlin bots.
And as we have seen in the case of cruel online rumours about the Princess of Wales, the impact on individuals is highly damaging.
Drafting in the security services to help MPs rebut misinformation makes perfect sense.
In the 21st Century, lies can be pumped out on a global scale instantly.
Our elected politicians need all the help they can muster in the battle against fake news.
OAPs are to be handed robo-cats and dogs to stave off loneliness.
At £1,000 a cyber-pet, they are hardly cheap for the NHS.
But think how much they will save on vet bills.
