There’s only one man to blame for the terrible mess we’re in

By depriving his successors of the ability to go to the country at a time of their own choosing, David Cameron introduced an element of chaos to the UK’s constitution and its ramifications are still unknown

Cameron resigns on the steps of 10 Downing Street in 2016 (Getty)

Britain is in the throes of a political crisis of a kind that has never been seen before. A prime minister who has lost every single vote he has faced in the Commons and has thrown away his own majority by expelling a score of his most experienced and respected MPs. A government defeated on the central plank of its policy platform and ordered by MPs to do something – extend Brexit negotiations – which the prime minister has explicitly stated he will not countenance. A bewildered phalanx of Conservative MPs bullied by an unelected adviser who is unable to confirm whether he is even a member of the party himself.

Under normal circumstances, this would mean just one thing: the collapse of the government and a swift election in which the hapless PM would be roundly defeated and the opposition would sweep into power. Instead, we see the Tories desperately seeking a way to be removed from office so they can capitalise on polls suggesting Boris Johnson could restore his majority by going to the country, while Labour withholds its support for the election it has spent the past two years demanding.

Many in Westminster put the blame for this topsy-turvy politics on one man – David Cameron – and the unintended consequences of his tinkering with the UK’s constitutional arrangements.