By Justin Madders

MP for Ellesmere Port

WE have long been known to be a nation of soap opera lovers of one description or another.

Millions of people watch Coronation Street, Emmerdale or EastEnders and in many instances they learn about day-to-day topical issues by following the plots in those programmes.

However, viewers of soaps are being encouraged nowadays to get their fill of everyday life by watching a rival drama: ‘The Conservative Party’.

That is what it feels like anyway when following the antics of Rishi Sunak and his Tory entourage. It is difficult to keep up with them, to the point that we don’t know whether to laugh or cry.

Just take a selection of Conservative stories from the last week or so.

Rishi Sunak finally made a decision but it was NOT to call a General Election on May 2, even though on that date there will be country-wide elections for police and crime commissioners while in many areas there will also be local government elections (although not in Cheshire West and Chester).

It would save us all bags of public money by having all elections on the same day, but clearly that is not Mr Sunak’s priority. With such a big deficit in the opinion polls though it would have been an extremely bold move to call a general election but that did not stop the speculation increasing to almost fever pitch.

Aside from the opinion polls dissuading the Prime Minister from calling an election, the former Vice Chairman of the Conservative Party, Lee Anderson MP defecting from the Tories to the Reform Party last week may have also been a factor. Having lost the whip for allegedly racist comments about the Mayor of London, Sadiq Khan, the MP for Ashfield had the Tory whip removed. He has clearly decided his chances of re-election as an MP are better served under a new party which must have been a huge blow to Rishi Sunak.

Indeed it would appear sections on the right of the Conservative Party are so convinced of impending defeat for the Tories, whenever the General Election is finally called, that – as a last resort – rather than switch political party, are prepared to ditch their Prime Minister in favour of Penny Mordaunt, leader of the House of Commons. They have spent the weekend briefing against the PM in the Sunday nationals and see Ms Mordaunt as the person most likely to save their skins.

Rishi Sunak spent the beginning of the week attempting to relaunch his effort to persuade the voters that the ship is now being steadied and all will be well in the not too distant future.

All I can say is tell that to the voters in my constituency who line up at my office in Ellesmere Port to outline to me all they multi-various problems they are encountering in their everyday lives, with appointment queues for public services a mile long.

Bear in mind that Mr Sunak must call a General Election before January 2025, but as far as I am concerned it is the sooner, the better.