Forty-two years ago one simple image helped sweep Labour from power after Britain's last Winter of Discontent and put Margaret Thatcher in Downing Street.
A devastating poster showed a queue of ordinary Brits caught in a snaking queue for the dole juxtaposed with the powerfully simplistic phrase Labour Isn't Working.
Now, four decades later, Tory MPs worryingly concede in private that, despite the pathetic lack of a functioning opposition, there's an eerily similar mood in the air.
And much as former supporters of the Prime Minister like me don't want to have to admit it, that poster could now just as well read: Boris Isn't Working.
What the hell happened to all that hope and promise of January 2020?
Back in 1979 the Tories' election pitch was that the Labour government was impotent to deal with economic crises and over-mighty unions.
Forty-two years ago one simple image helped sweep Labour from power after Britain's last Winter of Discontent and put Margaret Thatcher in Downing Street, writes DAN WOOTON. A devastating poster showed a queue of ordinary Brits caught in a snaking queue for the dole juxtaposed with the powerfully simplistic phrase Labour Isn't Working. Now, four decades later, Tory MPs worryingly concede in private that, despite the pathetic lack of a functioning opposition, there's an eerily similar mood in the air
And while impotent might seem to be an odd word use in connection with our priapic, father-of-six PM, that's how he's beginning to look too.
The chance to take back control and ensure the destiny of Britain was in the hands of Westminster MPs answerable to their constituents, not Brussels bureaucrats.
An opportunity to cut the red tape and do what's best for the UK at almost any cost, avoiding international crises.
Twenty months on and the country is falling apart.
We are queuing for petrol.
Queuing for six hours at passport control to get back into our own country despite the fact that only a fraction as many people are flying now compared to before the pandemic and Priti Patel doesn't seem to care.
Queuing for treatment from a NHS which seems unable to deal with a waning epidemic and routine diseases.
Back in 1979 the Tories' election pitch was that the Labour government was impotent to deal with economic crises and over-mighty unions. Above: The famous poster
And much as former supporters of the Prime Minister like me don't want to have to admit it, that poster could now just as well read: Boris Isn't Working. What the hell happened to all that hope and promise of January 2020?. Above: Mr Johnson addressing the UN last week
And even queuing to get round the bloody M25 because Priti Patel (again) and our terminally ineffectual police are incapable of a stopping a tiny rabble of eco-nuts blocking the carriageways on a daily basis.
Meanwhile, illegal migrants continue to flood the country via the Channel in record numbers, making a mockery of tough talk from the government (Priti again), and our Brexit advantage is being needlessly thrown away.
This was always my fear of 18 months of debilitating lockdowns as a result of the Covid-19 pandemic, where the doomsday scientists took control of governance and our lives with very little thought about what would actually happen when we emerged the other side.
Confusion, panic, mixed government messaging, U-turns, dithering and then terrifying briefings designed to scare us back into submission are becoming habitual.
Well, I am close to breaking point – this isn't any way for a great country to operate.
Brexit should have stopped this sort of nightmare – and, with the right planning, it would have.
But where the hell is Boris? Our leader, in whom the British public has shown so much faith, is missing in action.
Twenty months on from Mr Johnson's election victory and the country is falling apart. We are queuing for petrol. Above: Queues at a petrol station in London today
This is a very real crisis, Prime Minister. Your citizens have left petrol stations up and down the country dry, despite your ministers insisting there is no shortage of fuel.
Why? Because we're scared.
Because we've started to lose faith in government messaging over the past 18 months with screeching U-turns at the last minute, often without a shred of evidence to back up why.
Sitting back and sending out a string of incompetent morons from your weak Cabinet to do your bidding, seemingly without any insights or facts, is a dereliction of duty.
Where is the strategic plan to assure the public there isn't a need to panic buy and that the Army won't be distributing fuel to key workers within days?
Hoping that all of this will quietly fade away once every tank has been filled shows you are either very naïve or completely bonkers.
As the MailOnline revealed earlier today, parents have been expressing very real fears on Mumsnet, with one writing: 'So... all things
