The Observer view on why a general election in Britain is now essential | Observer editorial
Three and a half months ago, he was forced by his party to resign his premiership in disgrace. Yesterday, Boris Johnson landed back in the UK, fresh from a holiday in the Caribbean amid the squall of drama that surrounds his every move, to attempt the launch of his bid to lead the country again in the wake of Liz Truss's resignation. There is perhaps no greater symbol of the contempt the Conservative party has for voters than the scores of MPs apparently willing to disregard the fact he is being investigated for misleading parliament - and may well face a Commons suspension and perhaps even a byelection before the year is out - in order to re-elevate to high office a charlatan who has repeatedly demonstrated that he is devoid of the integrity citizens should expect from their prime minister. Even some of his close former backers are warning him that to proceed would do his party great damage.
This absurd state of affairs is just the latest chapter of the decade-long Tory psychodrama that has imposed untold hardship on British people, eroded their trust in politicians and made Britain an international laughing stock. It is the sorry tale of a governing party that abandoned any attempt to fashion real solutions to the problems the country faces in favour of populist rhetoric about Brexit, without considering the consequences - for its own fortunes, for our political institutions and for the country as a whole. As a result, the UK is mired in an economic crisis made immeasurably worse by the actions of four successive Conservative prime ministers. It should not be left to Conservative MPs, or Conservative party members, to decide who the right person is to steer us out of this mess. The country needs and deserves a general election to choose its next prime minister.
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