Word from Downing Street: All’s well except ‘the country falling apart’

Enlarge

We owe it to Politico’s London Playbook to give us some choice festive treats from the British prime minister’s annual holiday season drinks reception at 10 Downing Street.

Notably, that Rishi Sunak was in jokey form, telling journalists that the UK had gone from having the shortest-serving PM in history to just the shortest (he claims he’s 5’7″). And that a Downing Street staffer indicated the relief everyone felt at the limited return to political steadiness with this killer quote: Everything is “a lot more chilled” under the new PM, apart from the small matter of “the country falling apart”.

Say what?

Actually, that sounds about right.

Mr Sunak’s Britain is facing a truly dreadful month – full of strikes and doom and gloom. Royal Mail postal workers went on strike today, and will repeat this on December 11, December 14 and 15. Train services are messed up – Avanti West Coast staff walk out on December 11 and 12. The next wave of railway workers’ nationwide strikes begins on December 13 and nurses will strike on December 15.

So yes, that Downing Street staffer is spot on. Everything is fine apart from the small matter of “the country falling apart”.