For the first time since Boris Johnson became Prime Minister, I'm worried about the country's future. I am by no means a blind cheerleader of the Government, but nevertheless, I do believe it to be infinitely preferable to the hard-Left alternative of the current Labour front bench or, for that matter, the Marxism-lite on offer from Ed Davey's Liberal Democrats.
I dread to think what would happen if either ever managed to get their hands on the reins of power or, worse still, formed some sort of unholy alliance.
This country would be crippled economically, riven by conflict and generally pitched into a social and political abyss.
If you think high taxation and the rising cost of living are a threat now, imagine how much worse the situation would become under a Labour administration that would send public spending through the roof, while stifling opportunities for wealth creators in order to satisfy its hunger for class warfare.
Imagine being governed by people such as Angela Rayner and Rachel Reeves, with Jeremy Corbyn, Diane Abbott and Len McCluskey salivating in the wings.
I appreciate this may be some people's idea of a dream team, but it's not mine — nor do I believe it's what a nation that, only two years ago, returned a thumping 80-seat Conservative majority wants either.
For the first time since Boris Johnson became Prime Minister, I'm worried about the country's future
That's why I'm fearful. Because for the first time in a very long time, I can actually see this happening.
We live in a democracy: no party has a God-given right to rule — they have to earn that privilege at every election. And I am not sure, if things carry on the way they are going, that the Tories will secure it again.
These latest revelations about a drinks party at No. 10 in May 2020, at pretty much the height of the lockdown restrictions, are just the latest in a drip-feed of damaging stories that have not only handed Boris Johnson's enemies a stick with which to beat him, but also forced even his closest and most loyal allies to question his judgment. And that is a problem that urgently needs to be addressed.
It's becoming increasingly hard for loyal Conservatives such as me to excuse the behaviour of No. 10. And while I have huge sympathy and admiration for many of the individuals in the firing line, and understand possibly more than most the complexities and nuances of the situation, I can't allow my personal feelings to render me blind to the truth: if someone doesn't get a grip soon, the Tories will lose the next election.
And frankly, who could blame the voters? Because all these mistakes, all these misjudgments, have a common denominator: arrogance, entitlement and a sense that those in power are above the law.
Imagine being governed by people such as Angela Rayner and Rachel Reeves, with Jeremy Corbyn, Diane Abbott and Len McCluskey salivating in the wings
These are characteristics no political party or politician ever wants to be accused of; but they are especially toxic for the Tories, since there is already an inherent suspicion of such behaviour.
David Cameron spent years painstakingly trying to unravel the preconception that all Tories were fuelled by an inbuilt sense of entitlement; but recent revelations, I'm sad to say, have undone much of that work.
The consequences are potentially devastating. Because if, as a Tory administration, you are going to do the one thing that is anathema to all conservative-thinking people and go against the fundamental tenets that underpin Conservative philosophy — that is to say the right of the individual to determine his or her actions in a free society — you absolutely cannot make yourself the exception.
Not only must you lead by example, you have to be unimpeachable. And if the rules you impose are some of the most draconian in living memory, you have to bear the consequences of the public's anger if you flout them while bearing down hard on ordinary people who have made, often unwittingly, even the slightest mistake.
It's no secret that I always felt the imposition of lockdown far too harsh. I could see the cold, hard logic of it; but, on a human level, so much of what was enforced seemed at times not only irrational but also cruel and unnecessary. If the Government — or its agencies — had shown even the slightest bit of sympathy
